This is not a funny email. This is not meant to entertain you. This email is meant to upset you. If it makes you uncomfortable…good. Perhaps it will piss you off…perhaps you will agree. I do not have a solution. In fact, I’ve found that I don’t really have desire to debate this issue (I know…I know…that may surprise one or two of you)…I only care that we find “A Better Solution“. I hope this email does encourage you to take action. To take 10min and write a letter, take 5min and make a phone call or take 1min and send an email or 30 seconds to sign an electronic petition, whatever your personal level of interest in this topic. Please let your congressmen and senators know what you feel about this issue. Encourage your friends and family to take action. Please take a moment and make decision. Take a stand…then speak out. Give our legislators the political will they need to find A Better Solution. This august, they are not on vacation putting up their heals with a glass of whiskey and a cigar at the local country club…well, ok, they probably are gunna do that too. But guess what they’ll be talking about while they do? Help give some direction to what they talk about. I hope you inform them that we need change. The status quo isn’t working for 50 million Americans. That’s a lot of people.
First and foremost…Be aware of the significant amount of FUD being spread on this topic. FUD = Fear Uncertainty Doubt…it is the skillful manipulation of other by playing on fear often by way of “innocent misquotes” or anonymous statements. There are many powerful groups and individuals that have much money on the line … both for and against reforms. Be wary of what you read and what you hear. Including this, for I can assure you…this letter is biased.
You’ll notice I didn’t title this email “Health Care Reform” or “Health Insurance Reform” or any of the other key word phrases. Why? ‘Cause I don’t really care what you call it, so long as we start moving this behemoth towards a solution that reflects the values of this nation. We’re all for healthcare reform but only if nothing changes. WTF? Touch the pocketbook and we become selfish bastards with no care or concern for people outside our immediate circle. We feel sympathy for sick and dying but no empathy…unless it’s your son or daughter or mother or brother. The stories of people who have fallen thru the Texas sized cracks in our Health Care System are numerous and heart wrenching. Most of us know people in this situation. Many of us have tried paying for “COBRA” for one reason or another over the years…if you haven’t let me put it this way. Did you bitch when gas rose to $4/gallon? Why? Did it mess up your monthly budget just a tad? Instead of paying $300 for 100 gallons of gas you had to pay $400 for the same amount. Trying inserting an extra rent or mortgage payment in there instead. I’ve never met a person that paid less than $750/mth for COBRA insurance. Only, the gas thing…most of us were spending additional gas money to get to work…if you take out COBRA it’s because you have not job. Do the math. It sucks. Some of you know my x-wife. She has to deal with preexisting conditions. She came to within days of experiencing a lapse in coverage that would have been most unpleasant. As it was with her out of work, we had to shell out $850/mth to keep her covered on COBRA for four months. By the way, the COBRA coverage was nowhere near as good as her previous policy that was tied to her job.
Yes, we may have some of the best doctors available to mankind and the most advanced medical doo-hickies on the planet and drugs…well, yeah, our pharmaceuticals are truly awesome. Of course, those are only useful if you can afford to utilize them. If you are independently wealthy or work for a fortune500 company, then you’re fine. But if you work as a waitress or bartender or are in-between jobs, you just pray you don’t get sick or have an accident. Many of you have a favorite restaurant or bar or similar type establishment…that waitress or bartender that knows you by name, face or by what you order…ask him or her about their healthcare situation. The stories you hear may sadden you…they sadden me. Act now. Talk to others. Yeah, the news media is handy to get some of the details. But TV and radio and most www’s are one way communication…just like this email will be to most of you. It is one person or entity giving their spin on the topic. If all you do is listen to CNN or NPR or FOX or whatever your personal favorite is, then you’re missing out on being part of the solution.
It may well be that costs will increase on the front side of process change of this magnitude. That’s fine. We always hear both sides of the isle cry “it’s for the children”…ok…consider this an investment in our future. If it’s all about the $$$ think of it this way, if the kids grow up healthier you can work them harder as adults; they’ll be less likely to have acute or chronic medical issues and thus less sick days. If it’s about the humanity, then you can be glad you helped make the country a better and healthier place.
I am a healthy male in my mid30’s. A tad overweight and chances are high that if it comes to natural causes, my death will be via a cardiac crisis. I have a “good career path” in that, chances are low that I’ll be out of a job for long periods of time and will usually get good insurance. And since I’m healthy (so far), I have no preexisting conditions to contend with I can pray during any potentials lapse in coverage. For that I am grateful. For those of you have preexisting conditions, I hope you’re married or young enough to stay on your parents insurance. The problem those of you without insurance face…to be perfectly honest...is people like me. Aside from bitchin each year that my premium has gone up and services have gone down…yet again; I can not complain about my ability to get to see a doctor or receive treatment. If I sit on my ass and do nothing, I will not see a direct positive or negative effect on my day to day life. I will have not helped my future self, nor my friends or family, nor those that I do not nor (or really care to know). Doing nothing is almost always easier than doing something. But the rewards are a lot less satisfying.
The system is not sustainable. It will collapse under its own weight and the longer we wait the more costly the repairs will seem to be.
For those making the comment that our system must be good because folks come from around the world to our medical centers.
1) Many other centers around the world can also claim “foreign patients” due to some specialty practice or device.
– Just because some Doctors in some high end research facility are able to separate Siamese twins joined at the head doesn’t mean that the lady who cuts my hair and has adult onset diabetes can get what she needs to remain healthy. Is it cheaper for us to ensure she gets her meds and preventative care or wait till she shows up as an indigent in the emergency room?
2) Why does your grandma get her meds from Canada?
Because they’re not covered and/or are too expensive to buy in the U.S. Why is the US not negotiating stronger with the Pharmaceutical companies? We’re not talkn about an enterprise that can barely makes ends meet here.
I’m not sure what the solution looks like. Something should be done about preexisting conditions and COBRA. Grandma shouldn’t have to get her meds from Canada. I think a focus toward preventative medicine would be well spent. Another place to start is to look closer at eliminating cigarettes from our society and decreasing obesity. The other day a report came out that indicates 25% of our population is “Obese”. You think that has zero effect on the overall cost of the system? You can add this to the “it’s for the children section”.
An individual should be responsible for their health…NOT their doctor.
In an effort to help. I’ve tracked down a couple links you may find of interest. (If you oppose my view, feel free to write your own email)
Would you like a hand delivered letter to congress: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/extraimpact/extraimpact.tt
Who is your Senator and how do you contact them? http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Who is your Congressman and how do you contact them: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
WHO World Health Report: http://www.who.int/whr/en/ (yes, it is long and boring…no I did not read the entire thing)
2008 report summary: http://www.who.int/whr/2008/summary.pdf
http://www.familiesusa.org/
Always a great place to springboard from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_reform
A couple sites if you want to do the 30sec online petition thing…
http://healthreform.gov/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
AARP site: http://www.healthactionnow.org/Default.aspx
Let’s find A Better Solution.
Personal Rant Section…..
I found that as of today searching for a healthcare petition will bring up a “Free Our Health Care Now” petition. As most of you know nothing pisses me off more than FUD. And wow…digging thru the immense search results was fun…I did find this, though I cannot verify its unbiased accuracy http://www.examiner.com/x-6489-Madison-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Who-started-the-Free-Our-Health-Care-Now-petition-and-its-relationship-to-the-GOP
this does bring up a good point….make sure that YOU agree with any petition that you sign and that it makes sense. Don’t sign something that is uselessly vague or written in pure legalese. Don’t sign something because it looks and sounds patriotic. I’ve seen much of that…lots of Red/White/Blue…Bald Eagles and Mountains…even images of Uncle Sam…This has NOTHING to do with politics and EVERYTHING to do with humanity.
This comment was a catalyst for me:
“This health care issue Is D-Day for freedom in America.”… “If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
– Jim DeMint (R-SC)
I thought this issue was about healthcare. Silly me.
—-
Sean
Sometimes what’s right isn’t as important as what’s profitable.
– Trey Parker and Matt Stone
“In a democracy, the common (if usually unstated) assumption is that citizens operate as rational human beings, reasoning their way through the problems presented to them as if every question could be analyzed rationally and debated fairly until there is a well-reasoned collective conclusion. But the new research demonstrates that, of course, this is not the way it works at all.”
— Al Gore
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
– Blaise Pascal
- World population Trend:
10k BC = 1 Million
5k BC = 5 Million
1 AD = 300 Million
1850 = 1 Billion
1950 = 2.5 Billion
2000 = 6 Billion
2040 = 9 Billion
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