Brenda Skidmore's Health Tips

For the time being, health care reform legislation seems be to getting quite a bit of flack from the public in its current one thousand page written form. It's looking less likely that the first rough draft will pass the critics analysis to become a reality. For all that are hoping for 'true' health care reform this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Congress is getting some much needed feedback from often angry voters voicing their opinions at town hall meetings across the country. If our legislators are wise, they will tune out most the loudness and anger, and listen only to what is really being said.

Obama and his health care reform supporters say they intend to pay for health care transformation by squeezing out inefficiencies in the current bureaucratic Medicaid and Medicare systems. They are proposing a tax increase on the wealthiest 2 percent of wage earners to help pay for it. They claim that most people are not going to see an increase in their taxes whatsoever.

But, most of us know that there is probably going to be some 'misleading' cost saving projections in both of these governmental health care systems, and some 'miscalculations' in the projected tax revenue of the upper 2 percent of wage earners. You have got to give yourself some room to cover the possibility of human error. I'm just curious as to where the rest of the money is going to come from.

All in all, it is still going to be a very expensive program to implement, as it it could turn out to be another 'inflexible' fix to an already complex system. Anyone ready for some more red-tape?

The way it appears to be currently written, the government's proposed public health insurance plan wants to eliminate consumer costs by opting out of co-payments for preventive care, outlawing denial of coverage for pre-existing health conditions and capping extra out-of-pocket expenses. These are just a few of the highlights of a program that have not been thought out nearly long enough.

While on the surface this all sounds good at first glance, what ought to be a troubling image is how this may deepen the hole we are already in. Has anyone ever really stopped to ponder this?

I have thought about it, and there are a couple of things that I can think of that leaves me feeling uneasy.

Number one, is that this model will keep, 'both,' the patient and the doctor blindfolded to the actual cost of services. It separates the recipient from the provider in the transaction, in the sense that the costs are no longer a concern. Not a good thing in my opinion. When you just hand out money, food, or health care services on a silver platter, most folks will not appreciate what is being given to them. They will have no incentive to do better for themselves.

The second thing that leaves me feeling bad about the way it stands right now, is that it leaves the consumer with no real 'incentive' to lower the cost of services by taking any responsibility for their own health. How about offering a tax credit for those who want the flexibility to opt out of the system, or not needing to use it? This would inhibit some abuse of the system.

I don't have any complicated answers to this huge problem. Some may think I'm being too idealistic here, but I think the answer is in letting go of what is not, and has not been working very well all along. Besides it has just been making everyone feel bad. The only way to turn this mess around, as hard as it may be, is to find some good that is coming to the surface because of it all.

Have you ever noticed that when you keep looking at a problem in only one way, there seems to be no real solution? Just like when your trying to figure out how to do something new on your computer, there is always more than one way to get the results you are wanting. As with life in general, and with health care, there is always going to be more than one way to deal with it. You just have to open your mind a little more to let it in.

If our President and his health care reform supporters were talking about ending the suppression of alternative methods, initiating an investment towards public health education in preventing diseases, ending the pharmaceutical companies monopoly on drug patents and pricing, restoring a doctor's ability to practice medicine for the good of the patient, end agricultural food subsidies, and promote honest food labeling then I could feel better about transforming health care in America.

Many conventional doctors are actually promoting more natural approaches, although some patients aren't listening and sometimes it's the other way around. If no one is listening to what would make you feel better, my suggestion would be to find someone who will.

Wouldn't you just fall out of your chair with joy to hear about some truly 'new' ideas about the subject? Change is always unsettling, but don't let it discourage you from desiring changes. The expansion of everything that we currently know occurs because of change. You have the power to do this for yourself, if only you could stop tripping all over your own feet.