Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

The Elephant in the Hospital Room
for release 06-17-09
by Lightning Rod

In the healthcare debate, everybody is willing to talk about the 800 lb. gorilla in the hospital room, but nobody wants to mention the elephant that's in there too. Most of us acknowledge that our system is broken and that it's not serving our citizens effectively. What they don't want to look at is Why we are in the mess that we're in.

Yes, yes, the reasons we point to are: An aging population, the cost of technology and diagnostics, inflation, lawsuits, the high cost of drugs etc.

The culprits are the insurance companies. They are the ones who are responsible for our escalating healthcare costs. That's the elephant in the room.

When hospitals figured out that they could charge fifty bucks for a Tylenol because the insurance company would pay it, healthcare costs went up. When doctors jacked up their prices because they needed to pay for their mal-practice insurance and the insurance company would give them a kick-back by paying for high-priced treatments and unneeded tests, the costs clicked up.

The capitalist system has not served us well in the healthcare department. Our system has devolved into an elaborate racket. When someone mentions a single payer system you hear mutters of 'socialized medicine' (this is where the creepy organ music drops in.)

I agree that it would be great if when you broke your leg, your doctor would fix it and then you would pay him in chickens or garden produce, but that is not the world we live in. We have industrialized healthcare, production line healthcare. But most industrialized countries in the world have single payer systems. It's because they work in terms of delivering care and there aren't four or five middlemen in the transaction, so it's less expense for everyone. To hear the insurance companies carp about putting bureaucracies between doctors and patients, it stretches my credulity. A single payer system would get their elephant asses from between doctors and patients.

I was feelin' . . . so bad,
I asked my family doctor just what I had,
I said, "Doctor, . . .
(Doctor . . .)
Mr. M.D., . . .
(Doctor . . .)
Now can you tell me, tell me, tell me,
What's ailin' me?"
(Doctor . . .)

He said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Yes, indeed, all you really need . . .
(Is good lovin')
---Rascals

One other topic that we'll not see on the health table -
junk foods and excessive habits weakening the nation's health,
but we cannot put demands on the morbidly obese or the
food addicts, the tobacco abusers and the alcoholics without
infringing upon their 'freedoms' (free dumbs?) to live their lives
as they so choose, but demand first class health to prop those
lives up... unrealistic expectations, imho...

insightful piece, eLRod...

man i give out free tylenols
in hospital
advils too
and we track our progress with each person
to make sure they are treated fairly and completely
as well as efficiently

i'll sign up for medicare someday
but meanwhile glad i gotta plan
but i also get to serve illegal aliens and uninsured types
all basically the same

we sent a guatemalan back home with
a wired back brace
after free treatment for hospital and radiation therapy
it was wonderful to see him recover
and walk outa there for home

i just graduated a haitian woman as an rn
she is now working and is so delighted

learning about alternative healing therapies as well
healing touch
transference of energies
prayer
hope
as well as down and dirty diahrrea
on the floor with the young lady apologetic
and she was charmed into pleasant restfullness
whilst i sang my way into her bathroomm
wearing a mask

like they say
once ya gets past th smwll
ya gets it licked

the smell of entrepreneurial vision
occurs to some in varying ways
for some of us it is a thankful job
to serve others

still rich in spirit
that's what counts

i like the idea of decentralization
in economics and in health care

and efficiency

these things can be improved upon
but a carte blanch centralised single-payer system
is only one option
personally i prefer a schmorgasborg to choose from
not someone telling me where and who i have to see

extending health care into poor communities and unto the uninsured is paramount,
but single-payer insurance is not the only way to arrive at a better health care system

i am greatful to pfiser for making my satori medicine
but i would prohibit them from declaring theiir tax haven corporate headquarters in the cayman islands, monz.

love ya el rodney!
stay well brotherz!

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/profile.html

rescission, talk about a nasty word