Our health care debate today has been distracted into debating things like socialism and euthanasia, neither of which have any bearing on the problems in our medical system. It serves the purposes of those who hope to stop the process of serious exploration of health care today in the United States, the kind of thing that Andrew Weil was addressing.
Here's another article to consider seriously as we look at a system with few if any brakes and nobody outside monitoring much of anything thanks to lobbyists. How many times will we hear hands off doctors and hospitals? As things currently stand, how easy would it be for you to check out a doctor you were considering for surgery? Will you know what other patients have said about them, all their results, or only what they want you to hear?
If we are looking at health care, shouldn't we be looking at the whole package? Every bit of it impacts costs.
Then I saw this one which relates to what Andrew Weil said. If we made this kind of change, would it impact people's health? How much of overweight is genetic and how much attitude of I like it now and will worry about tomorrow tomorrow? I know it can be how I think where it comes to my own overweight. If I had to pay more for insurance, would I do something about it now?
ReplyDeleteFat Tax?.
I can hear the screaming now as there was when it was implied someone who could not fit into one plane seat should have to pay for two. I sympathize but is it really helping us as a people, with even our children getting fatter, that we ignore this part of the health care debate?
Some is our food where everything is padded with extra corn syrup or different kinds of fats to taste better. Some though is substituting eating for other things that last longer and are healthier. Maybe...
We should be looking at the whole package...Is there any truth that the Obama administration made a deal with Billy Tauzin and the insurance folks ?...Have you heard about it Rain ??....
ReplyDeleteRight now, I think, the objective is for health insurance reform. Not so much health care reform. It's an interesting difference. I can't even begin to imagine what the discussion would sound like if we started to talk about our diets, our sedentary lives, our responsibilities and the responsibility of the food producers. I'd be happy with insurance reform, but only as a beginning step to real health care reform.
ReplyDeleteI have heard he made a deal with the pharmaceuticals but don't know for sure. It will doubtless come out but I don't trust Democrats right now all that much. More than Republicans but not a lot more.
ReplyDeleteOne concern for getting improved health care as well as the insurance is so it does not bankrupt us as a nation. When you see all the small kids who are obese, you wonder what that will mean for us in the future :(