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Socialized Health Care
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Politics isn't really my specialty, but there has been a lot of talk about this the last few months, and I thought it was about time I did a little article on it. With the new stimulus bill having been passed and a democratic President and Congress, there is a good chance that in the next decade there will be a change in the health care system. I sincerely hope it does not happen, but it kind of seems like an eventuality.
Most people that don't favor socialized health care point to the long lines at doctors and hospitals in countries that do. Those that do favor the system will show you cases in which people walk right in and are seen in less than 30 minutes. If you watched Michael Moore's Sicko, you would have seen many examples of how people in other countries received health care with relative ease. However there are the opposite reports such as an article in the London Times reporting that the overall NHS (National Health System) is failing.
Other than the political reasons such as a tremendous tax hike to pay for universal health care, there are many patient care reasons why I oppose this program. The predominant reason why I oppose socialized health care is that I feel as a people we are capable of governing ourselves. In the most recent stimulus package there was a little known inclusion that created a position in the federal government to oversee medical expenditures. This individual can approve or deny any claim that goes through the federal government. Under ideal circumstances this position would be filled by a very well educated DOCTOR who could be unbiased and informed and be able to determine if a proposed treatment was called for or not. However, this position is not being filled by a doctor, nor a nurse, or for that manner, anyone that has any health care experience. The position is going to be filled by a financial expert who is going to be keeping government costs down.
As I mentioned earlier, I have basically succumbed to the fact that this is an eventuality. If that is in fact the case, I would ask our Congress to make strides to decrease the insanity associated with medical malpractice lawsuits. Malpractice insurance premiums are rising at an exponential rate. They do this because there are so many ridiculous lawsuits that the insurance companies are being forced to pay out. My personal situation is very different. As a chiropractor, I have very low malpractice insurance. The reason for this is simple, when you go to a chiropractor, there is very, very little that could go wrong. However I have friends that are currently M.D.s and D.O.s that are being buried by malpractice insurance premiums. And if malpractice insurance premiums keep going up, and medical reimbursements keep coming down, eventually it will get to a point where it is no longer possible to practice.
I apologize for preaching from my soap box. My wife usually nudges me in the ribs when I get going like this, but she isn't here right now. So again I apologize for the long windedness, however take what I've said here and digest it a little bit and let me know what you think about socialized health care. I would like to start a discussion about this and see where my readers fall.
