Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Z's HealthCare Response to WhiteHouseGov

I got an e-mail request from our Vice President last week. You may have got one too.
Here's my video response to this Health Care Reform that's just more of the same old same old.
What makes anyone think that the Big 4 Industries who've profited while America's health fell from #1 healthiest nation on earth to #37 can be trusted to make things better now?
The Insurance companies are spending a lot of money on advertising telling us how they're making things better. MD's are all over the news talking about Wellness and Lifestyle--never mind they have NO training in either of those in Medical School. Pharma is hard-selling us on all the drugs we should ask our doctors about while soft music and happy scenes distract us, making us think "Hey--maybe THAT's the solution!" And the Provider Industry who's overcharged us, abused us, and spread infections like MRSA is telling us how much they care.
Right. That's why we're #1 in chronic pharmaceutically managed disease.
These Big 4 had half a century to profit at our expense while we became less and less Well.
And now they're gonna make it all better....
If you believe that--I've got a bridge in Brooklyn you can have for a song...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

from Salon.com: "How I Got Well in India for $50"

Add to Technorati Favorites This post's title links to an excellent article from Salon.com by an American woman who went to India to work. It's well worth a read and compares India's system and pricing with ours. It wasn't a surprise to me--30 years ago, I spent half a year in India. Many Westerners are decimated by amoebas and bacterial infections upon arriving in this new environment. 30 years ago I found I got better, more compassionate care in India for a pittance than I, a Doctor's daughter, had experienced in the United States.
Here's a quote from Salon.com's article. Click on post title for the rest.

"My cheap, fast and effective treatment in New Delhi reminded me of everything wrong with American healthcare...What I hadn't anticipated was that India's treatment would turn out to be so good. And cheap. Unless you happen to be one of the hundreds of millions of Indians who are poor and don't live in a major metropolitan area. The Indian healthcare system is an anarchic hodgepodge, with little insurance, little regulation and a range of services offered by hundreds of government-run, trust-run and corporate hospitals. The care it produced for me was fast, effective, courteous and cheaper than American medicine, even when adjusted for the lower cost of living. But that was the care it produced for me, a middle-class woman in the big city. As America considers healthcare reform, the Indian system is a testament to both the triumphs and the pitfalls of letting the free market heal people."

Interesting Video

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Very interesting video explaining the different forms of government HERE