Politics annoy me no end. At least the part wherein everyone argues unproductively back and forth and nothing ever gets decided. (Oh, and the name-calling part, too.)
The subject of health care reform is of particular annoyance lately because it is being discussed ad nauseum in the news, but there seem to be no decent solutions being offered. So here’s my suggestion. Why don’t we just let the whole system fall apart? Let it crumble to the ground. Everyone stop paying premiums, stop going to the doctor, stop filling prescriptions, stop paying health care bills. Opt-out altogether.
What might happen if we did that? Well, some people – those who are being over medicated or suffering from iatrogenic illnesses – might start feeling better. And those who are incredibly sick will get sicker and/or die.
Sure, it’s drastic. But honestly, only drastic measures – like having to walk over dead bodies – appear to have any effect on getting us off the dime. If the whole system fell apart, what solutions might we implement right quick?
Of course I don’t really want to see people dying from lack of health care, but how ’bout we pretend that people’s lives are on the line in order to speed up the process of reform? After all, people’s lives ARE on the line.
Don’t think I like the or trust the proposed universal health care. I do think we need health care reform. For starters, there needs to be some sort of limits placed on law suits. Also, the drug companies make way too much.
If I define the term “universal health care” as everyone is allowed to access basic health care whether they are rich or poor, then I definitely want to see universal health care. The problem is the cost – some of which is from lawsuits and pharmaceuticals – and who is going to pay for it (government, private sector, some combination of both?). What I hate seeing in this country is all of the spaghetti dinners used to raise money to pay for hospital bills. Families dealing with the crisis of illness shouldn’t have the additional stress of hosting fund-raising events. Can’t we as a country do better?
I think the real issue is that our health care system is based too much on profit motive rather than on patient health. That’s why we get doctors ordering unnecessary tests and hospitals putting in super expensive equipment.
Of course, doctors will complain that they have hefty student loans to pay off and that they have to specialize, rather than become general care physicians, precisely because specialists make more money. If we chose to subsidize the education of physicians at a higher rate and help them avoid those crushing loans, would they be happier making a lower salary? (If the answer is no, then another problem with the health care system has been uncovered.)
The whole issue is complicated, which is why it’s being talked to death. It’s also being aggravated by lobbyists who like the situation just the way it is and push against reform. What a mess. Seems like a full collapse is the only way to start over.
Maybe we could throw out the lawyers that are always advertising on TV for health related lawsuits as a starting place. Some just seem too quick to sue over everything.
When I was a toddler I refused to eat anything with salt. According to my mom I would cry when she gave me anything salty. Our doctor, Dr. M. told my mom that some young children were just sensitive to food seasoning and cut out salt. Later, it was discovered that I had am allergic to shellfish (i.e. iodine). The first indication I have of an allergic reaction is that my mouth and lips start burning. I’ve actually had people tell me that we should have sued Dr. M for not catching my allergy before I was in elementary school. Seriously, I don’t think Dr. M. did anything wrong. She used common sense. Why would anyone think a 1-2 yr old was having an allergic reaction for being a “picky” eater. Yes, she could have ordered tests I guess but why? She never knowingly made a mistake but rather used common sense. We need more doctors who use common sense approach to medicine.