Patients need to take
responsibility for their own health. Providers need to reduce unnecessary
costs.
Healthcare Cost
Explosion - Per capita annual healthcare costs increased from $147 in 1960 to
8,402 in 2010. It rose from 5.2% GDP to 17.9% GDP, but didn’t really improve.
Healthcare costs were
$3.65 trillion in 2018 with a per capita cost of $11,212 per person.
The cost of health
insurance for a family is $18,764 in 2019.
There are many reasons
why healthcare costs rose from $147 per year in 1960 and $11,212 in 2018. In
1960, there were no federal government subsidies for healthcare.
Most hospitals were
owned and supported by churches and charities. Vatican II in 1962 resulted in
the sale of Catholic Hospitals to Accountants. Medical Specialties exploded and
expensive equipment was employed, but many continued to die.
Medicare and Medicaid
enacted in 1964 infused tax subsidies and consumers lost control of prices.
Prices rose because healthcare no longer obeyed the law of supply and demand.
Obamacare enacted in 2009 forced consumer subsidies from the health to the sick
and poor and the healthy rebelled.
Congress failed to
repeal Obamacare in 2017 and we have healthcare that is overpriced and often
underperforming. Costs are unsustainable, so the “healthy” are choosing not to
buy health insurance.
The last big
advancement in Medicine was the development of anti-biotics in 1945 that
offered a cure for inflammation, infection and inflammatory diseases like small
pox and others. Average life expectancy increased by 20 years because of
anti-biotics.
The US was inundated
with campaigns to eradicate other diseases and $trillions were spent on medical
research, but we are now only beginning to understand cancer. We spent a
fortune on toxic radiation and chemo treatments for cancer for the past 60
years.
Lots of drugs are
available for all kinds of rare conditions, but the side-effects of taking
these drugs are lethal. Drug price gouging is wide-spread.
All patients are
different, so medical care is about trial and error, finding what works for
each patient. That’s how science works. Many different illnesses exhibit the
same symptoms and getting the right diagnosis is also done by trial and error.
There are 18 million
healthcare workers in the US and patients need to be selective in choosing
doctors, hospitals and insurance carriers. Medical errors and insurance denials
of drug coverage usually results in quadrupling the cost per patient and making
patients’ conditions worse. It is critical to do reference checks on specific
doctors and facilities by talking to patients and nurses.
Healthcare workers are
subject to the same normal curve we find in every occupation. There are a few
at the very top and a few at the very bottom, with lots of healthcare workers
in between. The goal is to lower costs and improve outcomes, so placement is
important. Finding the best for your
particular medical problems is your responsibility.
Healthcare workers need
to learn from their own experience, from their own continuing studies from
others, from very knowledgeable co-workers and from patient problems and
outcomes. If they view it as a profession, they will engage in continual
improvement. Collaboration with knowledgeable staff is essential.
Doctors need ensure
that there are Sr. Nurses on staff to handle specialized problems like wound
care and that they are aware of the side-effects of drugs and the dangers of
wound infections. Good Sr. Nurses are knowledgeable; they are not stubborn
bureaucrats.
Patients also occupy
the normal curve. The best patients know enough about medicine to be good
patients and call immediately if medication isn’t working or wounds are
hurting.
The worst patients go
to the doctor because they want attention, they are not sick and they waste
everybody’s time. The worst also don’t take their medicine and don’t attend to
their wounds. The worst patients are their own worst enemy. Providers should
stop seeing patients who waste their time.
Some diseases like
Diabetes II are completely preventable. Patients who are overweight need to go
on a diet of natural foods and stick with the diet. I have 2 eggs and a sausage
biscuit every day. I also have oatmeal and a banana (for potassium). If I have
supper, it’s a small portion of meat or fish and vegetables. I avoid bread. I
take supplemental Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, and Iron. My multivitamin doesn’t
have 100% of all my daily requirements, so I take supplements. I am never
hungry.
Maintaining your
weight at a healthy level will prevent Diabetes II and other illnesses. Your
meals should be no bigger than your fist. Taking supplemental Magnesium with
your vitamins can curb your appetite. If you can get by on 2 small meals per
day, you will lose weight. If you keep eating the same things, you will
maintain your low weight.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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