"Culture Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis"..
acoustic guy
Posts: 3,770
A young physician by the name of Dr. Roger Starner Jones. His short two-paragraph letter to the White House accurately puts the blame on a "Culture Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis"..
It's worth a quick read:
Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer. And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture" a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully,
ROGER STARNER JONES, MD
It's worth a quick read:
Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer. And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture" a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully,
ROGER STARNER JONES, MD
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
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Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
j/k
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
basically he is saying that 1 women = everyone who really can't afford insurance
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
This is why the medical school where I work is now requiring all our med students to get a certificate in public health.
Here's the Snopes article, by the way: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/starner.asp
It includes the real letter and a response entitled "Health Care Reform Is Not Us vs. Them".
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
Well that first doctor is an idiot then because who is paying him when he is "reimbursed"?
Obviously it's just 1 example. But the reality is, this is part of the problem. I have no idea how big a part and I doubt it is even on the radar screen compared to the other issues though.
if Roger has a problem with tax money paying for other people's healthcare, he shouldn't have gone into a profession that collects that money. if he doesn't like being in the medical field because he doesn't like what people eat or how they look and what they wear etc, then maybe he should reassess some of the life choices he's made. OR perhaps he could just concentrate on doing his job. his job is to provide medical care, not pass judgments on his patients.
just a thought of course.
Today I saw an aunt who worked hard at a dead end job in a stamp factory, trying to raise her 3 kids on her own because their dead-beat father would rather give his money to a pub than to his own children. That dead end job happened to be at a rubber stamp factory. She only came to know of the hazards of her job when the owner's wife died of a severe respiratory disease caused by the chemicals in the product.
Now she has a severe respiratory problem, is hooked up to an oxygen tank and awaits an operation. This woman can barely make rent and car insurance, and is unable to work because of her condition. Her sons hope for the best as everyday its harder and harder for her to breathe. She can barely afford rent each month, or, heaven forbid, imagine if she had to pay some corporation for health insurance.
Thankfully, she is a Canadian.
So, Mr. President, once your citizens can fix this "culture crisis", where tax dollars going to your fellow countrymen is considered more of some sort of evil socialist scheme, maybe fewer people will have to worry about the cost of care - regardless of how they came to need it.
Respectfully,
SOMEONE WHO WOULD GLADLY HAVE HER TAX DOLLARS GO TO HEALTHCARE.
people forget that medicare and medicaid are for more than the elderly and poor, it also takes care of the disabled and unable to work. and the people in those situations are no less deserving of basic human dignity and great medical treatment than those that pay for private insurance.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
the republican way
Jesus weeps for your souls
22,000 priests molesting kids.... "Isolated incident."
Aren't they passing judgement? Don't you everyday?
He/She is an idiot because he/she doesn't care that someone has to pay the bill. Certainly a doctor has to live with the system and treat the patients, but it's ok to care about waste in the system instead of shrugging it off and passing the bill to Jill Taxpayer.
I also already said, this is hardly the biggest problem in the health care system, but it certainly exists.
I often see young kids having to do with white bread, TRans-Fat Peatnut Butter and "Juice" that's just flavoured High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Poor people are generally in bad health because all they can afford is the poisons made available to them.
And I don't believe this story for one second... what doctor is going to waste his time asking a patient where she usually eats?
You people are twisted. Why shouldn't the company be responsible instead of everyone but??? :?
Well said.
If you check out the Snopes link I posted, it says the letter is real. But the real letter says nothing about the patient's eating habits. Gotta love how some people feel the need to embellish just to try to prove their point that they are better than other people. :roll: Also gotta love how the doc felt the need to comment about her R&B ring tone. :roll: If it were his favorite band (or, I would guess, the "style" of music of his ethnic group) he probably wouldn't have judged her for something she probably got for free.
I'm surprised if he hasn't somehow been reprimanded by his employer for making disparaging remarks about their clients in such a public forum. Can't be good PR for the state facility for which he works. Plus, it's just rude to the patients. And this patient will know he's talking about her and so might other people. It might not technically be a HIPAA violation, but it sure comes close to crossing a line. He should have at least spoken of a group of people over time, not a specific person who was seen on a specific night. People are supposed to be able to trust their doctors and feel that they are receiving caring healthcare, not feel that they have to be dishonest about their lifestyle for fear that the doc will talk shit about them in the paper the next day. He should be thankful that this patient has taken the time & made the effort to get on Medicaid. Otherwise he would be providing care with no compensation if she couldn't afford to pay. Also, the guy's an ER doc, so obviously the woman was receiving emergency medical care. What a way to kick someone while she's down. If he thinks not everyone is deserving of emergency care, then he is not supporting of his employer's mission. I think this guy is definitely in the wrong profession. I hope to never encounter such a judgmental doc myself, whether or not I'm on Medicaid. Asshole.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/starner.asp
...
And my opinion on this?
This is the PERFECT EXAMPLE WHY IT MUST BE MANDATORY FOR ALL CITIZEN TO PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
If eveyone was forced to pay... there would not be these types of incidents.
Hail, Hail!!!
Well, c'mon now, R&B does suck. It sucks so bad it can negatively impact your health.
This is true... a warning from the Surgeon General should be attached to it, too. I mean... look what happened to Tupac.
Hail, Hail!!!
If the company was intentionally negligent, you may have a point.
But if she was working with safety-tested and approved materials, you’re suggesting a years-long witch hunt… which, in the US at least, would likely end with a massive civil suit involving a ton of people looking for multi-million dollar settlements….guess who would pay the settlement, as well as healthcare and court costs?
I could throw it back at you that YOU people are twisted with your sue-happy attitudes. Should I infer that you’d prefer to let the victim take their chances in court before getting their care paid for? What happens in the meantime? What happens if her lawyer fucks the case up and she loses her suit? Oh well, as long as you don’t have to chip in your $.00003 portion of her care? She may very well be entitled to compensation for negligence, but that should not determine whether or not she receives the treatment she needs.
The president's pledge that 'If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep it' clearly does not apply to America's seniors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... opOpinion#
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has attacked Senate Republican candidates for wanting "to end Medicare as we know it." And in Nevada's hotly contested Senate race, Majority Leader Harry Reid is attacking Republican Sharron Angle, saying she wants to "gut" Medicare. But Mr. Reid has already gutted it. He and his colleagues did so by passing ObamaCare.
Senior Editorial Writer Joseph Rago explains the increase in insurance premiums. Columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady critiques the President's plan.
In his analysis accompanying the recently released Annual Report of the Medicare Board of Trustees, Richard Foster, Medicare's chief actuary, noted that Medicare payment rates for doctors and hospitals serving seniors will be cut by 30% over the next three years. Under the policies of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, by 2019 Medicare payment rates will be lower than under Medicaid. Mr. Foster notes that by the end of the 75-year projection period in the Annual Medicare Trustees Report, Medicare payment rates will be one-third of what will be paid by private insurance, and only half of what is paid by Medicaid.
Altogether, ObamaCare cuts $818 billion from Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) from 2014-2023, the first 10 years of its full implementation, and $3.2 trillion over the first 20 years, 2014-2033. Adding in ObamaCare cuts for Medicare Part B (physicians fees and other services) brings the total cut to $1.05 trillion over the first 10 years and $4.95 trillion over the first 20 years.
These draconian cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers that serve America's seniors were the basis for the Congressional Budget Office's official "score"—repeatedly cited by the president—that the health-reform legislation would actually reduce the federal deficit. But Mr. Obama never disclosed how that deficit reduction would actually be achieved.
There will be additional cuts under ObamaCare to Medicare Advantage, the private option to Medicare that close to one-fourth of all seniors have chosen for their coverage under the program because it gives them a better deal. Mr. Foster estimates that 50% of all seniors with Medicare Advantage will lose their plan because of these cuts. Mr. Obama's pledge that "If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep it" clearly does not apply to America's seniors.
Moreover, there will be additional cuts to Medicare adopted by bureaucrats at the Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board. ObamaCare empowers this board to close Medicare financing gaps by adopting further Medicare cuts that would become effective without any congressional action. Mr. Foster reports that "The Secretary of HHS is required to implement the Board's recommendations unless the statutory process is overridden by new legislation."
The drastic reductions in Medicare reimbursements under ObamaCare will create havoc and chaos in health care for seniors. Many doctors, surgeons and specialists providing critical care to the elderly—such as surgery for hip and knee replacements, sophisticated diagnostics through MRIs and CT scans, and even treatment for cancer and heart disease—will cease serving Medicare patients. If the government is not going to pay, then seniors are not going to get the health services, treatment and care they expect.
Mr. Foster reports that two-thirds of hospitals already lose money on Medicare patients. Under ObamaCare it will get much worse. Hospitals also will shut down or stop serving Medicare patients.
The president's concept of spreading the wealth includes sacking the Medicare system, on which America's seniors have come to rely for medical care, in favor of others the president's progressive vision deems more worthy.
Everyone should know by now that Medicare suffers dramatic long-term deficits and unfunded liabilities, and is in need of fundamental, structural reforms. But effectively refusing to pay the doctors and hospitals that provide the medical care the program promises to seniors is no way to solve that problem.
Mr. Ferrara is director of entitlement and budget policy at the Institute for Policy Innovation and author of "The ObamaCare Disaster," forthcoming from the Heartland Institute. Mr. Hunter is president of the Social Security Institute.
that is what I actually like about medicaid. The idea that now that he government has passed this healthcare bill and because of that they will tell you how to live is a very scary notion to me. Just because she is on government assistance doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to smoke, drink, bungie jump...whatever. If the government wants to provide healthcare they should not be able to tell me how to live as well. That is the price you pay. If this doctor doesn't like the idea then he/she needs to become more involved in the political process.
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
Forgoing a pair of shoes, cigarettes, & a tooth does not enable people to afford medical care.
Besides, where does this mentality end? If we see someone eating a steak at a restaraunt - or eating out at all - does that mean s/he is taking advantage of government benefits? What other things should preclude people from receiving government benefits? Failing to use coupons at the grocery store? Buying their children birthday gifts? Going out of town? Getting their nails done? Getting haircuts? Buying Oreos? Having a computer at home? Buying a drink? Should they first have to sell their wedding rings & any valuables? If they give $5 to a homeless guy does that mean they have money to spare and therefore are milking the system?
I'd also like to point out, once again, that we really don't know these individuals we judge or what their circumstances are. As has already been said, maybe some things we think they shouldn't be able to afford were purchased before they were down on their luck, or were gifts or trades, or were on super sale or are knock-offs. We just really don't know.
After I read this I just knew it would start a buzzz.
Godfather.
you know the same stuff you delete from your e-mails in the JUNK folder, but please lets save the world one cut and paste at a time.
EEEEZZZZZ just kidding
Godfather.
True - and every time I hear a country song I feel my mental health deteriorating. That needs a warning too.