In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written and accepted by the United States. Some of the most familiar and powerful words, were our stated rights to "...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776). However, today, this seems to apply to everyone in America who are capable of managing their healthcare expenses, and the rest have only the right to find a way to earn enough money to do the same. Where is the right to life when a patient can not get approval for an "experimental" treatment to save his/her life? And what makes a treatment experimental? Just because it has not been done a million times yet? All treatments are susceptible to complications that can affect their success rate, so if a new treatment has been tried on one person, and it worked, that should be considered a treatment option. I am curious as to how many treatments are considered experimental when they cost 100.00 or less. And if a person is not covered by health insurance and can not afford treatment costs, then they too are out of luck. The United States is the only industrialized country that does not offer universal healthcare. (Skolnik, 2008) Our tax dollars apply to many important aspects of our lives, like education and economic development, yet our healthcare is considered optional.
There have been considerable efforts towards improvement, such as the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid to assist those who are physically incapable of helping themselves, but what about all the people who fall in between? America has many things to be proud of, but our healthcare system isn't one of them. Money has become the central variable in our system. Hospitals are forced to conduct themselves as businesses, cutting corners and overcharging when possible. Doctors are forced to limit their care and make decisions based on what the hospital or office can afford, rather than what the patient needs. Our citizens accept this, because we are scared into thinking that universal healthcare means limited care, but the opposite is true. America is notorious for adopting new ideas and improving them. My hope is that we will all come to the understanding that health is sacred. It can not be replaced. Good health is the essential gateway to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence, 1776)
Kally Smith
Declaration of Independence. (1776). Retrieved February 6, 2009 from:http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm
Skolnik, R. (2008). Essentials of global health. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett
K Smith it is true that hospitals conduct their facility as a business and Doctors are forced to limit care to meet the standards of the hosptals. I have seen patient sent home from the emergency room because they do not have healthcare and the Doctor evaluated their illness and decided that it was not a serious illness. They will release the patients without any treatment. Doctors make their decisions base on affordability almost all the time. Many people living in this country do not have healthcare and because of this they are more likely to get sick and hospitalized because they lack proper care. The U.S. need to re-evaluate their rules and regulations about healthcare so it can benefit people in need and the health of the people can improve has a whole.
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Great reference to the foundation of our country! I worked for a hospital on the administrative side and it is appalling at the decisions doctors and hospital administrators are forced to make due to financial means. Meetings are held on a regular basis when patients are still hospitalized and they are running out of Medicare Days. Medicare only pays for a certain amount of hospital days due to the primary diagnosis. Hospitals are forced to look at it from that angle because of the cost for the patient to remain in the hospital. If Medicare doesn't pay for it and the family does not have the funds then where does the money come from? Our system does need to be reprioritized but I am not totally for socialized healthcare.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid our healthcare issues are going to get worse before they get better. Companies that are going through financial crisis are cutting health insurance for their employees. Some of them are just changing to policies that cover less, but some companies are knocking their full time employees down to part time employees so they don't have to provide benefits at all. This is a double hardship for those employees because not only are they loosing their insurance, but when they go from 40 hours per week to 20-25 means they don't bring in enough to pay for the basics anymore, like food and shelter.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. The fact that doctors and medical professionals level of care that they can give patients is very limited due to constant thought about cost effectiveness or insurance approvals, etc rather than a patients well being. It is very disappointing and hard to understand how a country as advanced and wealthy as the U.S has such a staggering amount of its citizens are uninsured or are not getting proper health care. I also am a supporter of a possible universal health care system it offers so much potential to become a healthier and happier country. I believe the lack of support and knowledge that is the reason for the lack of support. It is purely ignorance but hopefully change is in the near future. Nice work!
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