What’s Wrong With U.S. Healthcare?
It’s unrealistic to imagine that significant healthcare reform is possible in view of the facts concerning what Americans really want and who profits from our current system. Presently, U.S. healthcare is primarily a disease management and crisis care system.
Who Wants It This Way?
Both healthcare providers and the American public benefit from this unhealthy arrangement, supported largely by drugs and surgery. Providers never lack for income as the majority of patients suffer from chronic conditions that are managed for decades, usually until death.
Most people prefer easy choices over things that require effort like natural foods cooking or daily exercise. They also are much more inclined to choose things their insurance pays for, rather than spend money on alternative therapies or dietary supplements.
People are eager to swallow the lie that they can have quality of life for all of their days without taking responsibility over what they put in their mouths or how little they move their bodies. Most choose to manage their diseases with prescription drugs rather than search for healing through nutrition, lifestyle, and alternative therapies.
Corporate Drivers
We have a nation that prefers to live irresponsibly and manage the consequences. All the media is loudly and continually encouraging excessive indulgence as that’s become the American way of life.
Remember, the subsidizing of grain crops, livestock, and oil seeds since the Nixon administration is what has made the deadliest form of nutrition ever conceived, that is fast food, so cheap. Read my article posted May 10, 2008 for more information on the destructive effect of agricultural subsidies.
Solution?
Would more affordable healthcare address any of the root problems that are driving our escalating rates of degenerative disease? Truly, any reform our government may effect on a system designed to reward negligence and greed will be as effective as putting a band-aid on a gushing wound.
Those who put their faith in modern medicine and neglect to pursue healing modalities suffer the losses that typically accompany distorted values. It makes so much more sense to spend a little time, money, and effort on achieving true resolution to health problems rather than suffer reduced quality of life on an ongoing basis.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Good points. I do like that the Extension offices exist for the purpose of educating the public about health and various issues as a bridge between what research is finding in the universities and the public. http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/ I guess they employ people like you who went to university.
Going into the field of Mental Health, I have a real desire to learn more about natural healing and alternative medicine.
I am concerned, though, also about those people who have serious health conditions and can not get but very expensive insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
Are ou speakig of medicaid? I am learning how the system works. I applied for Blue Cross Blue Shield a couple weeks ago and when they called to interview me just felt for people who have to answer that they have so many serious health problems. How do they get insurance unless it’s really expensive?
July 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Yes, those people do need help and I hope the Obama reform will come to their aid. My children and I are among those who don’t have health insurance except for hospitalization because of the cost of the premiums.4A