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Dr Shapiro completed his undergraduate education at UC San Diego earning a B S in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and a B A in Political Science He furthered his education at UCLA where he earned a Masters Degree in Public…
FAST FACTS
As President-elect Barack Obama officially introduced Tom Daschle as his choice for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services today, I reflect upon a few of Mr. Obama's health care campaign promises and wonder if they will ever come close to fruition. Now please don't misinterpret my words to imply anything other than in today's economic climate, the goals President-elect Obama has put forward requires nothing more than herculean preparation and execution to be performed based upon the limited budget that will probably exist. At a time when monies are being distributed to bail out one institution or another, I am concerned there will be insufficient funds to support President-elect Obama's plan which is based on the following three key premises:
- 1. Affordable health care would be made available to all Americans using the present-day health care system (including existing physicians, providers and insurance plans).
- 2. Health care costs would be lowered by $2,500/year for the typical family.
- 3. Public health-wise, coverage of preventive services would be required and a significant emphasis would be placed upon terrorist attack and natural disaster preparation.
We've all heard the staggering facts in one form or another...for those with insurance, the cost of premiums has doubled in the last 8 years and if one owns a small business (or, for that matter, works in a small business), the cost of health insurance is astronomical. Furthermore, over 45 million Americans are without health insurance, and of this total, 8 million are children. And while I am disappointed we do not live in an era where all Americans are insured, I am even more appalled in the number of children living without insurance.
So while we wait for change to occur, I would like to shed some light on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website...www.insurekidsnow.gov...which aids in the identification of health insurance programs subsidized by the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Each state's program can be accessed through this website and although eligibility rules may differ from state to state, in general, for an uninsured child 18 years old and younger to be eligible, a family of four must earn less than $34,000/year. And how much is the cost to a family where the insurance pays for office visits, prescription medications and hospitalizations? Well, it's minimal...only a few dollars a month.
So if your child is one of the 8 million living without insurance, please check out this website. Your child's health may depend upon it.
Dr. Jeremy
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Displaying comments 15-1 of 15
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• Recent analysis from the National Center for State Courts found that tort filings have declined by 5% since 1993.
• According to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of civil trials dropped by 47% between 1992 and 2001. The decrease was also reflected across specific case types. The numbers of automobile cases dropped 15%, premises liability 52.1%, medical malpractice 14.2% and product liability by 76%.
• The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics also shows that the trend in award size was down.
• The median inflation-adjusted award in all tort cases dropped 56.3% between 1992 and 2001 to $28,000.
Our legal system has multiple safeguards to ensure there are no frivolous lawsuits. The truth is a judge has the authority – under Rule 11 – to throw out a frivolous lawsuit and sanction the attorney before the case even gets started. In addition, a certain amount of strong evidence must be present for any case to proceed. Judges monitor filings at every step and can dismiss a case at almost any time. And there is a built in economic control. When an attorney takes a case on contingency, s/he only gets paid for winning. Spending valuable time and money filing frivolous lawsuits that are thrown out by the judge controls the behavior of lawyers by not providing an economic incentive for bring a frivolous lawsuit. And last could you support your statements about frivolous lawsuits with some objective measurements? I would be interested in reviewing how you came to your conclusions.
My hubby is also an RN and they are so over worked, and underpaid for what all they go through. If he wasn't over 50 and a kidney transplant patient himself he would get out of the profession but he needs the insurance even as bad as it is, and to work as long as he physically can until his new kidney goes, or he rejects it. But even with his medical problems he is one of the most admired and respected RN's in his specialty in the region.
I hope for all of us that Obama can turn the economy and health care around, I didn't vote for him but I still pray for him and our Country, that all members of congress, and senate can work together with President elect Obama to fix things, soon.
Kim
Unfortunately, many suffering from the hard economic times are discovering what a luxury healthcare can be or used to be.
I hope all those that need SCHIP continue to receive and apply for it.
I'd like to also point the readers here to a couple of additional points about health care. First, when people opt not to be covered (described as "moral hazard" in economic terms and also exemplified by the expected behavior of bank and auto company bailouts), they will ultimately pay more for coverage when it is needed. Second, having no insurance increases your chance of death by 25 percent (I have no separate statistics for children); 18,000 die each year as a result of having no health insurance. Uninsured women with breast cancer have a 30 pecent to 50 percent higher risk of dying than women with private health insurance. Others don’t receive recommended care for chronic diseases like diabeters, HIV, renal disease, mental illness, high blood pressure. Third, by creating a single-payer system - which is where Obama ultimately seems to be headed - around $300 billion can be saved nationally in administrative expenses. It takes a lot of infrastructure to keep a market-led health insurance industry going.
Is a single-payer system the best option? The AMSA (American Medical Students Association) seems to think so. Check out their statement at http://www.amsa.org/uhc/SinglePaye... With a group of burgeoning doctors entering the field with this sort of orientation, Americans can truly feel as though they are receiving the best possible care.
Everyone is short staffed and everyoone gets a piece of the pie so overwork makes doctors too slow to figure out what is wrong with someone. I no longer hardly trust any doctors. Why? Well let me see starts about 30 yrs ago. Un necessary death no. 1 still born child was alive until doctor and nurses insisted my sil went to the bathroom when she insisted if she moved something was wrong...did not listen to atient.
No2. My dad 11 yrs ago fought and won cancer brain, lung, stomach after 3 yr battle of atrocious mistakes that caused my dad to lst nearly die because they did radiation while he was on dilantin(sp?)Then pnemonia from the burns they had to scrub him with wire brushes to get rid of the skin. One humungeous burn from head to toe inside and out.Later told he was Cured! He died less than a month later liver cancer ...OOOPPPS! Forgot to actually do the tests before saying he was cured.
What a mockery. Now the latest of awful crummy non hearing doctors...my mother I took less than 6 months ago to her regular doctor. Symptoms...depression unusual..though under a number of stressors, sore on face came back after removal, also sore on leg took months to go away, huffing and puffing more than usual, high blood pressure meds she had been on for yrs suddenly was not working right.....made her blood pressure bottom out. By the way my mom was a nurse for over 35 yrs.Doctor sent her out of there with nothing. No we need tests...nothing except do you want an antidepressant.Well...my mother died on T-day on the way to a gathering from a massive aneursym. Answer me this why are people becoming doctors if they do not know how to listen to the patient or the patients child whom are trying to save their lives. My mom should not be dead or my dad or my nephew. What on earth has happened to this country...Only money matters now. All about the cost or expense or whatever BUT WHERE IS THE QUALITY OF ANYTHING ANYMORE???
Go do the lifeline tests that do find out about stroke, heart attack and aneurysms. Only insurance will not cover...Why? money.
So out of your pocket for 150 dollars when Lifeline screenings come to your town....GO GET TESTED!
Sorry doc! I am sure you are not a lazy one. But saw the posting and today was hard. Yesterday wew moved out the last of my moms stuff from her sooo neeeded apt. I am not feeling very nice about where all the quality has gone.
Rhea
It is unfortunate that the alternate media does not get the credit they deserve. Alternate media has been discredited time after time by the mainstream types. CNN FOX MSNBC ABC CBS NBC, you know? the ones you sit down and watch/listen too and base which the majority base all opinions.
Alternate media? What is that?
The internet which has allowed people to express their feelings. The news. The commerce. The ideas and thoughts. The free flow of information between we, the people, as I have done here. As all of you have, is always been under attack by the mainstream portals we watch each day. How many times have you seen someone make fun of things seen on the internet as opposed to something thoughtful who was not in the TV news.
I was hopeful. I listened to Obama a lot. Way more than the average person whether they be black, white, brown, yellow, red, or even green.
Even when he got up and made a speech in the senate asking for his fellows to pass the first bailout plan I was hopeful. Now I see, maybe I was misguided.
Obama is a great orator. McCain was too. He may believe what he says. Those that are ferverntly backing him as well. They should look at the facts.
I challenge all. Doctors. Lawyers. CPAs. Even you guys that thought the ride would never end on Wall Street. Everyone including people facing forclosure and loss in all classes and races. Those that sit each night and watch Fox or CNN. I challenge you to turn off the TV.
Try the alternate media and type in the questions you have about why things are as they are. Though you might not find the slick talkers, you may find others like yourself with questions.
This is why about 80 percent of U.S. citizens want our health care system overhauled:
The U.S. is ranked number 42 related to life expectancy and infant mortality, which is rather low.
U.S. is ranked number one in the world for spending the most for health care as well as being number one for those with chronic diseases. About 125 million people have such diseases. This is about 70 percent of the Medicare budget that is spent treating these diseases. Health Care is over 2 trillion dollars of our gross domestic product. One third of that is nothing more than administrative toxic waste that does not involve the restoration of the health of others. This illustrates how inefficient the U.S. Health Care System is presently. Nearly 7000 dollars is spent on every citizen for health care every year.
We have around 50 million citizens without any health insurance, which causes about 20 thousand deaths per year. This includes millions of children without health care. About 70 percent of citizens have some form of health insurance, and the premiums for their insurance have increased nearly 90 percent in the past 8 years. About 45 percent of health care is provided by our government- which is predicted to experience a severe financial crisis in the near future with some government health care programs, it has been reported.. Most doctors want a single payer health care system, which would save about 400 billion dollars a year- about 20 percent less than what we are paying now.
We are sort of a hybrid of a national and private health care system that has obviously mutated to a degree that is incapable of being fully functional.
Half of all patients do not receive proper treatment to restore their health, it has been stated. Medical errors desperately need to be reduced as well, it has been reported. It is estimated that we need about 60 thousand more primary care physicians to satisfy the medical needs of the public health in the United States. And we have those greedy corporations that take advantage of our health care system. Over a billion dollars was recovered for medicare and Medicaid fraud last year through settlements with those organizations who ripped off taxpayers who have a fragmented health care system with substantial components and different levels of government- composed of several legal entities and individuals, which has resulted in medical anarchy. The following variables sum up the U.S. Health Care System:
Access- citizens do not have the right or ability to make use of this system as we should.
Efficiency- this system strives on creating much waste and expense as it possibly can
Quality- the standard of excellence we deserve as citizens with our health care is missing in action
Sustainability- We as citizens cannot continue to keep our health care system in existence by supporting it.
Dan Abshear
I speak from experience as my daughter suffered in pain for 2 years and ended up unnecessarily losing an important part of her, in more ways than one. The many, many doctors (most from a teaching hospital) who saw her didn't have any concept of referred pain. Instead they tried to tell us it was psychological or that she was acting out. The icing on the cake was the pain dr who tried to get her to tell him her father abused her! It's just too easy to blame everything on "it's in your head." The ironic part was the problem did show up on an ultra sound, they admitted they just thought it was something else.
So while we are trying to get the needed care, let's also remember we are the consumers and we must demand quality care. If we don't, nothing will ever change.