Disclaimer: All persons, places and things in this document are imaginary; any resemblance to actual persons, places or things is purely coincidental.
Yikes! I'm overdue for a "blog". Here goes.
This morning I was listening to Senator Obama on "Meet the Press: and he was articulating the Democratic Platform in response the a question from Bob Scheiffer ('scuse me if I'm misspelling the names here)..and he listed "Energy Independance"first. After that was Health Care. There were probably other things, as well, but I was thinking so hard about this focus on Energy Independence that I missed them. But I think it's pretty darned exciting to have government put alternative energy on the top of the priority list. If nothing else good comes from our war in Iraq, this new, focused determination to become free of foreign oil is an absolute good. People of my generation have been squawking about alterntive energy all of our adult lives and now, finally, everybody's getting on board!!! Whoopee!!!!! It seems to me that in addition to all of the other, obvious advantages to this American Agenda item, it creates new industry, new jobs, new manufacturing and export products...it give Americans something to be good at again...something to be beter at than anybody else in the world. We can create and make the technology to replace oil as our primary energy source!!! Yea!!! I can support that. It's good!!! It's very Good!!! Let's all get to work!! This could be our salvation.
And then there' Health Care". I'm glad Obama named it on the "issues" list, because....we know it's an issue. I can't help but think that a big part of our "issue" here in America has to do with attitudes as much as anything.
When I think back about my "relationship" to "health care" in the course of my life, I'm struck by the fact that as a fairly impoverished single parent of two, I was able to acquire and pay for the health care of the children and myself for years...through childhood hospitalization for tick fever, for two tonsillectomies, several episodes of stitches, childhood immunizaion...I could always access a doctor, who would always accept monthly payments against a tolerable bill...the hospitals were the same way...I paid them so much a month...the bill was of a magnitude that I could pay it off...
And then, something changed.And suddenly the same care was so fabulously expensive, that no ordinary person could pay off two tonsillectomies in a lifetime....and pretty soon businesses couldn't afford the insurance costs..and new fancy hospiitals were going up,and nurses were freaking out about the undoable case loads and care seemed to get worse, but nobody could afford it anyway, but drug companies were pushing viagara and antidepressants on the evening news. And..well,here we are today...wherever this is.
It's a mess.
If we could "fix" those two things...energy and healthcare...this would be Eden, here in American, dontcha think? Now, mental health care is a subset of "health care" and we need to come up with some solutions for that. I've heard about some pilot programs in other states and I'm going to investigate and I'll report back what I find out. I'm a little disturbed that these pilots are the pilots of privatizing state systems, (much like what has been happening with prisons...same company even, I think)...but better to know about them than to just hope it never happens. And I'm hoping to encounter some other creative ideas that I can run up the blogpole for people to comment and think about, etc. I may be overreaching my abilities here.....
Since my last post, there have been new comments on: Housekeeping, Got an Anteater and Too Much Religion. Enjoy!
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2 comments:
It is quite interesting to see that many others are misinformed regarding HIPAA and its' intent. I for one would not desire my medical history to be bandied about at a barbeque like it was nothing more than small talk and cocktail conversation. At least I have the cognitive capabilities to pursue an OCR complaint if I was to become aware of such a thing. This of course is not always the case with those in our care. They are just lucky enough at times to swim through their pain and tell us how to help them, let alone how to protect them.
But hey, to each his own.
And yes, we do discuss the the consumers symptomatology, diagnoses, declarations and such; sometimes in an attempt to understand them and improve their care and at other times in an attempt to modulate our own reservations, fears and inadequacies as caregivers. Black humor anyone?
From a HIPAA standpoint it is about our need to know, to have the minimum information necessary to provide our care. Is that what we are doing here? Providing care?
However I digress.
Just what about healthcare is a priority for those that legislate?
Could it be the lack of insurance? Quite the industry isn't it?
Could it be providing medications for all that ails us? Big pharma to our rescue.
Could it be for re-election?
Or could it be that the government does not exist to serve us but to serve themselves and the corporate machine they call friends?
The weak, the poor, the disenfranchised, the disregarded. Who cares and speaks for them?
What would Eden look like? How will we know when we have reached Nirvanha? How long will it take for the darkness to disappear?
Can you see it? Can you feel it?
Shine the light?
PS - do not let them forget us here at the madhouse.
Elmer, you've got the advantage...you have my email address, but I don't have yours.
g.f.
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