<p>I saw Sicko (Michael Moore’s new movie) this morning. </p>
<p>Do not walk, but run (carefully, beacause if you get hurt your insurance may not cover you, or worse, they could cancel your policy!) to the theater to see it. </p>
<p>Take every person 18 and older to see it. (18 because at that age, they are often dropped from their parents policy unless they are full-time students) This is not a “political” film (as in not simply liberals will agree with it), however it IS political, as we MUST get our politicians on board TODAY with Universal Healthcare. Even if you’re not a fan of Mr. Moore’s work, his approach on this film is compelling to every person in this nation (and he’s very calm and hardly pokes anyone with hot sticks). </p>
<p>Like every graduating college senior without a job, or holding a job without benefits? My S just has his last covered dental appt.</p>
<p>I know many concerned parents, with graduating seniors in their final months of health insurance. I’m in gratitude to my employer, who will cover him still, for health, if claimed as my dependant. But this seems rare. Contrast this with all European or many Asian kids who are covered by national health plans.</p>
<p>just paid $364 today for a prescription for my daughter that the doctor fully approved and prescribed and insurance company said no, without explanation. Insurance companies are, across the board, the richest industry in this country and are out to constantly rip us off.</p>
<p>when I first became an attorney, many moons ago, I was sent to meet with an adjuster on a case where the plaintiff had been severly injured in an auto accident. Our office represented the defendant and insurance carrier. My basic instructions were to drag out the case as long as possible in the hope the plaintiff would die before trial as the value of the case would be less if he were dead than if he lived and had to be cared for. I quit that job shortly thereafter and in 30 years of practicing never represented an insurance company again. They will go to any lengths to defend matters rather than reach proper solutions and settlements.</p>
<p>And as an aside I like Michael moore’s work very much. Try watching Farenheit 911 today and see what you think. Looking forward to seeing this new movie. Not saying the guy is perfect, but he has some very thought provoking things to say.</p>
<p>The problem will be how to pay for national healthcare. It will be expensive even if uncle sam runs it. The reason? we are also the most unhealthy undustrialized nation most of our illness is self inflicted, even my own. We will never get a grip on health care and it’s costs until we decide to get fit again as a nation. Self inflicted lifestyle illnesses are our biggest threat as a country. We are the only nation where obesity is the major cause of deaths.</p>
<p>I don’t think we would be willing to actually take the steps to have national healthcare. I mean, everybody wants it…as long as nothing changes for those who have it. I honestly don’t think American’s have the mindset. </p>
<p>I like Micheal Moore and understand his efforts. At the same time the guy can barely walk up a slight hill. I’d love to know his blood sugar levels…</p>
<p>In fixing America’s healthcare, do we or should also fix Mr. Moore’s health as a matter of policy? That’s the real question… should our government force health changes upon the population to control healthcare costs?</p>
<p>Universalized health care with a single payer is not likely to help in situations where a drug is not a covered benefit. The formularies are likely to be smaller with narrower windows of eligibility in a single payer system.</p>
<p>I, for one, am grateful that we have the opportunity to pay for care that is not “covered.”</p>
<p>I lived in England with a National Health Service, and I’ll take ours. As a matter of fact, theirs was so bad, that our employer still provided us with private health insurance. I could go on for hours with the problems it had.</p>
<p>Regarding Michael Moore’s health - I saw him doing an interview on one of the late night talk shows the other night, and he said he has lost about 30 lbs. As he researched information for his documentary, it became clear to him that he did not want to become a victim of our health care system, and the best way to do that was to get healthy himself. He shared quite a few details of how he has changed his lifestyle and how it has impacted his health, including blood pressure, cholesterol and (I think) blood sugars. It was quite inspirational.</p>
<p>Let me add, my husband works for a major pharmaceutical company. From time to time I have concerns about the ethics of pharmaceutical businesses. I will say, though, that we have excellent health insurance at this time. I know drugs are expensive, and much of that has to do with salaries that are paid to pharmaceutical employees. But I can tell you that my husband does not skate by with his job - he has six years of post-graduate education, and still continues to work a minimum of 60/hr work weeks (I can’t remember the last time he took all his vacation time due him). So he earns every cent he makes - for that I can’t apologize. When you get to the CEO level, that’s a different story… it’s difficult to comprehend what they do that justifies a ten-fold increase over what my husband makes. But I do know the years of research and money involved to get one new drug to the public, and these companies have to cover their initial expenses.</p>
<p>Having lived in England for 5 years, I am no fan of the NHS. When I lived there, it was not in the state of crisis it is now in, and yet, there were multi-years wait for elective surgery, i.e., non-emergency, or for non-life threatening problems (such as hip replacement). My GP tried to convince me that my sciatica was all psychological: “How are your relations with your husband? Maybe your are tense over exams (I did not have exams)?” I was told that this is a very common ploy to avoid having to prescribe drugs. The French system is somewhat better, but would the American public tolerate the high taxes designed to cover health care?</p>
<p>I am fully aware that millions of people are uninsured, that many patients are given the run-around or cannot afford costly medicine. But Moore’s portrayal of other countries’ health systems is disingenuous and willfully misleading.</p>
<p>opie,
What the government should do is have a federal wellness program. Everyone would go in once a year for a blood test, blood pressure and bmi measurements. If you get healthy results, you pay less taxes. If you think that’s an invasion of privacy or too Big Brother, you can opt out and be in the higher tax bracket. This would not be forcing people to be healthy, but rather offering them an incentive to get and stay fit. The goal should be for people to want to achieve that healthy wellness score.</p>
<p>I lived for five years in Germany with a decentralized national health care system that includes a private health care option for some. I thought it was great. If you are interested in an overview: <a href=“Welcome to CareerBrochure.com”>Welcome to CareerBrochure.com;
<p>Well, I think that there would have to be exemptions made for genetically inherited diseases or syndromes, such as Type 1 diabetes. But certainly there could be a range of indicators that would determine if someone is staying reasonably fit: BMI between 21-24, for example, normal blood pressure, non-smoking, normal blood sugar ranges. These are normally within a person’s ability to control and manipulate through a healthy lifestyle. It would not depend on any one indicator, but rather on multiple. </p>
<p>Heck, maybe it wouldn’t even work, since you would think people would want to avoid paying out-of-pocket costs for doctors/RXs/procedures in the system we have today. But it seems like more and more people are content to just medicate or operate, rather than take charge of their fitness.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Should we categorize pregnancy and childbirth as genetically inherited diseases? My blood pressure, blood sugar were definitely abnormal; and my BMI…, well, better not think about it.</p>
<p>Suffering from both hypertension and type II, I am not calling the kettle black in my statement. The easiest and the hardest way to control health care costs is to improve the health of our society. However, as mr. moore finds it isn’t easy. Oh, it’s easy to point at someone else and say why aren’t you healthier? That’s always been easy. When the shoe was on the other foot, I learned it isn’t easy to do what others think is easy when you feel miserable all the time.</p>
<p>Personally I don’t think we can save our current batch of people, most are too far gone. With upwards of 40% borderline diabetics in this country, we are a generation lost. I would rather see us go back to the president’s council on physical fitness and reintroduce exercise into a child’s day at school. We have introduced a sedentary lifestyle to our children by not allowing them time to play during the day or eat properly for that matter. </p>
<p>There are far too many societial problems politicans aren’t willing to fix, to make universal healthcare work. UHC has become some magical “fix” where no one will ever be told “no”. C’mon folks it only works that way in your heads, not in real life. Healthcare no matter who handles it, the government or private industry, is a monster expense. All UHC would do is change out the top, at first, before it began to gut itself to work within a budget. </p>
<p>I dunno, I could go for hours having spent time involved in healthcare for decades. It just seems that everybody’s “solutions” NEVER require any self sacrifice. The solutions always point out somebody else’s flaws… sorta like the 5 time divorcee… “sure it’s always them”…never “me”</p>
<p>momof2inca, your tax the unfit idea would be quite burdensome on poor people who can’t afford to eat like rich people. Kraft dinner and hot dogs costs a lot less than tuna steak and mesclun salad. That’s a big part of the reason obesity is more common lower down the socioeconomic scale. High blood pressure is seen across the fitness spectrum, it’s not always a lifestyle issue. Deciding who gets the higher tax and who doesn’t would require a very expensive review process, with appeals and inevitible litigation.</p>
<p>Marite, obviously a temporary situation such as pregnancy would be exempted from the fitness profile, perhaps women would just maintain their pre-pregnancy score for a couple of years and then go back. Or perhaps they would be transitioned to a pre-natal/post-natal incentive program. I mean, there would need to be flexibility written into something like this. The emphasis would always be on prevention of disease, not on punishment. </p>
<p>Opie, it is not too late for this current generation. With personal comittment and solid education about what it takes to turn health around, 90 percent of the borderline type 2 diabetics could do so in one year or less. And probably 50 percent of the full blown Type 2 diabetics could do so. Would it be hard? Absolutely. There is no easy fix to regaining health, no matter what the pharmaceutical companies advertise. My H was pre-diabetic last year, actually he had metabolic syndrome (high sugar, high cholesterol, inflamation, overweight, etc…). He clearly inherited the propensity for this from his mother, who has been Type 2 for 4 decades. But his lifestyle choices are what caused it. Those are fixable. This year, at 45, through a combination of strict diet and exercise, he lost 40 pounds, cholesterol is normal, inflammation disappeared, triglycerides way down to normal range and he’s working on that blood sugar, is just 1 point in the pre-diabetic range. He did it through swimming and weightlifting 6 times a week for one hour a day. But the key is diet. He started with every-other day fasting (google it for a closer look) and then transitioned to lower carbs and calorie counting. He is 5’11 and weighs 170 now and has never felt better since high school. But it’s very, very difficult to maintain. He feels a personal commitment to it ,and the compliments from friends and relatives sure help, but it’s the hardest lifestyle change he’s ever made. I went through a similar one along side him, and I think it’s made a huge difference doing this together. You can turn your health around, and this generation is not lost at all, but they will be if they don’t act soon.</p>
<p>momoffour,
I believe even poor people can learn to eat less and walk more and drink less soda and more water. And if we can convince the government not to subsidize corn products anymore, perhaps the high-fructose products would rise in price and not look so good to the budget. Put the subsidies on fresh produce instead so that apples and oranges and salad are cheap and Twinkies and mac and cheese are not. </p>
<p>As for litigation and expense, what do you think we have now? And we are a nation of sick, overweight people.</p>
<p>The food lobby and pharmaceutical industries are very, very powerful in this country. Add in the insurance industry, and it is clear that there is no real incentive to fix the burgeoning health and healthcare crisis in this country.</p>
<p>I am with Opie. We will whine about health care, but there will be mostly rhetoric towards change, and very little, if any, action.</p>