tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post6843536453006252962..comments2023-05-13T12:42:00.360+01:00Comments on PamBG's Blog: Healthcare: Values versus Administrative ProcessPamBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-33743580813174397022009-08-30T21:39:32.022+01:002009-08-30T21:39:32.022+01:00I don't know if you "know" Grandmére...I don't know if you "know" Grandmére Mimi but you should read her experience with healthcare reform. <br /><br /><a href="http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-experience-of-democracy-in-action.html" rel="nofollow">Wounded Bird: Democracy in action</a><br /><br />The sad thing is that many Americans don't consider healthcare a human right. 30 years of Reaganesque propaganda have convinced a significant part of the population that the poor are "deadbeats" and deserve to be left behind and die. It's the downside of the American self-image that this country is a meritocracy where it is believed that your financial status is solely determined by how hard you work. So the poor are deadbeat who deserve their fate.<br /><br />I also think a lot of people, mostly in the lower end of the middle class, believe that they are on the edge themselves and are afraid that any tinkering of the status quo will push them over the edge. So it's every man/woman for themselves.<br /><br />I don't hold much hope that things are going to change in a meaningful way in this cycle. I think the system has break down even further for that to happen. But that is in process. Every year my company raises premiums or the deductible or cuts what is covered.toujoursdanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08106158181662408311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-42079679457314614692009-08-26T14:26:21.959+01:002009-08-26T14:26:21.959+01:00Love your neighbour as yourself and do unto others...Love your neighbour as yourself and do unto others as you would them do to you comes to mind.<br /><br />I believe there should be universal health care available through both private insurance and government provision but with the ethos on universal rather than selective provision.<br /><br />Hope you are settling in Pam. Keep on blogging as I enjoy your posts immensely.J A Y Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11575488467713996955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-12049731173994172952009-08-22T23:13:58.329+01:002009-08-22T23:13:58.329+01:00A very thoughtful summary. The problem is, I thin...A very thoughtful summary. The problem is, I think, that healthcare administration has changed so quickly in the past 50 years that people are confused. When we were young, it was more of a "pay as you go" - bills were lower, "women's" problems, like pregnancy, were never covered, and frankly, people died sooner because there was less that could be done for them. Then we had Medicare, a cost explosion tied with major increase and success in research and development of drugs/procedures etal. So then there were HMO's, which limited choice. Short version of a long story - now we have many different plans, but certain things are seen as a standard now in group plans that NEVER would have been thought of fifty years ago - pregnancy, birth control, prescriptions, dental, well baby/child/adult care to name a few. Combine that with longer lives, many more interventions and we get the implosion we now face.<br /><br />So if you have the good insurance, you get the latest and greatest thing without question. Does anyone ever stop to ask if that is the right thing to do? If you have a catastrophic illness, then you simply hold fundraisers (you see them everywhere and that works, especially if the sick person is a child, cute and white. The poor have Medicaid, which in some states is pretty decent for coverage, but loads of limitations. The person who makes too much for Medicaid but not enough to pay for a policy? They die. Then of course there are those whose policies exclude what we need - several meds that would enhance my QOL are not covered, for example. So I do without.<br /><br />Frankly, I think underlying all the screaming is racism. Let those of color have none. And Granny can have knee replacements and transfusions and chemo till she is 114.<br /><br />Of course, also underlying the screaming is the desire to humiliate Obama. You can try to argue this reasonably and rationally all you want. But Fox News has spread such misinformation with the express goal of derailing Obama that the chances of reasoned debate are slim to none.Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16468533109564823868noreply@blogger.com