What I’ve been reading about it…
There is a revolution in health care brewing, but it’s not going to happen overnight.
I read an article from the New Yorker magazine online sent to me by a doctor friend and his wife who is a nurse. In it, the writer was investigating why the health care industry is so messed up. Basically, it reviewed the county with the highest medicare expenses in the country (it’s in South Texas), and examined why it is so. The long story short is partly stemming from a multi-faceted problem of doctors being graded on the services they provide which dictates the amount of medicare allocated to a particular region for reimbursement of services. At least I think that’s what it was saying. It also could be stemming from doctors who may over-treat an illness for a number of reasons (trying to enhance reimbursement, avoiding liability, etc.) whereas a doctor trained differently might “under-treat” a patient.
Under-treating or over-treating is subjective, and also depends on several issues like the type of coverage the patient has (if any), and how the doctor learned in residency to treat different conditions. And then there is the issue of if the doctor is being coerced by a well-meaning sales person to use their product over another product. I have a sister in the medical device industry, and have difficulty faulting her for doing her job.
Another article on msn.com, discussed how politicians want everyone to be in a political tizzy over the issue, even though the spotlight should be on the fact that we’re talking about lives. There are things any health care reform policy must have, those things the author asserted are availability, affordability, reliability.
• Availability means that care and coverage is there for all citizens in the United States.
• Affordability means that anyone can afford care and coverage one way or another.
• Reliability means that no matter your current health, you will continue to have the same care and coverage even if your health situation changes.
These are just two interesting viewpoints in the plethora of information available. A lot of the information is overwhelming, but regardless of your position or place in life, this issue affects you. Count on it. Educate yourself about it. Listen to what people are saying about it and discuss it in a calm and adult manner.
Christine Jeffries is a writer/editor at for work and at heart, and lives in a home of testosterone with her husband and two sons. She founded a women’s group, The Wo-Hoo! Society, in the interests of friendship, networking and philanthropy. The group meets separately on a monthly basis in the Phoenix and Kansas City areas. Christine is interested in women’s health and promoting strong women.
Resources:
“The Cost Conundrum,” by Atul Gawande (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande)
“It’s Not Healthcare Reform Unless…,” by Liz Pulliam Weston (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHealth/its-not-health-care-reform-unless.aspx?OCID=eml_msnnl_6004.14.2.15&REFCD=emmsnnl_6004.14.2.15_11)