Americans Sicker Than English

[Croi Sasanach]

Lol at the 'genes' comment, sorry but i didn't see any pictures of Jews in Auschwitz with this 'gene'.

[thedailyflash]

im on medicaid so im poor

i had this awful rash with sores and later decided is it was caused by taking b12 supplement

the doctor gave me cream but didn't ask what supplements i was taking

they don't care or have no ability to think

[maggieblue]

I don't have health insurance right now and can't afford it - and yes, it's scary. I've lived that way most of my adulthood. I do hope we get a good healthcare program before long - no American should have no health care as affluent a country as we are, and yet, thousands and thousands of us have nothing.
Maggie

[Polwarth]

At least we have the NHS in the UK. And that means that anyone can get treatment, at the point of need, without having to prove they have insurance/funds to pay.

[maggieblue]

Which is great, even if there are some problems with it.
I wish we had a health program here, and am hopeful we will one day.
It's rather horrible that we don't.

What about dental health? I knowso many people here who need to go to dentist and cannot afford to. They are very expensive.
Maggie

[Lizzieprof]

As I write this post, President Obama is attempting to persuade Americans (and their Congressional representatives) to support a significant series of reforms to the U.S. health care system. We are not #1 in health care--far from it. We have many millions (45,000,000 was the latest figure I have read) who have no health insurance and many of those cannot afford to pay out of pocket. Even those of us with coverage suffer at the hands of for-profit insurers who play the fine print in insurance contracts in order to deny coverage and make a quick buck. In my opinion, Mr. Obama is not going far enough with his proposed reforms--we need to move to a single payer system. Yes, I know it's not a perfect system in any country. There are at least a couple of viable alternatives which would also work (cf. the system in Switzerland, imho the best in the world).
The biggest problem we face is that americans are afraid of change and the private corporations with interests in making a profit out of health care have far too much influence with our government. Still, even incremental reform will help. Okay, now I sound too much like a politician.
In fact, I'm a health law professor trying to get a serious dialogue going about the relative merits of different types of reform. Here in the U.S., it's difficult to persuade people to change their opinions, even in small ways. Changing one's position is viewed as a sign of weakness, even if the change is based on new data and a new and deeper understanding of the problems we face.

Finally, I agree completely with those who have posted replies noting the role of individual choice and responsibility in health. We are the most health-educated Americans ever, yet many of us fail to make good health choices (diet, exercise, etc.). That's a separate issue from systemic reform. Nonetheless, it's time for people to step up and make good choices.

Now I really sound preachy. But it's frustrating to see that, as much as we spend on health care in this country, we don't have the best overall health stats. Why is that? A poor rate of access to and utilization of preventive care (compared to, for example the UK), and poor individual health habits.

I'm a fan of Mr. Obama--he's a smart guy and he's also a realist. He knows that incremental reform is all that's possible right now. Americans--look at the UK and the massive change that they embraced with the advent of Socialized Medicine after WWII. Don't be afraid! Meanwhile, take good care of yourselves.

[maggieblue]

Well, didn't a new health care plan just pass Congress?
Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction.
Maggie