Health for US All

Read My Blog on Huffington Post 01/01/09:

One way everyone on this blog could make their voice heard is to vote for Health Freedom
on www.change.org - in fact, Health Freedom was voted in the Top 3 of health care issues
in America
Let's make Health Freedom #1

Please go to www.change.org and vote for Health Freedom in the Health care section
of the site- voting is from Jan 5-15, 2009

If we stay focused on the things we can do to change our world for the better, there
are no limits to the good we can - and will- accomplish-and our world will be a much better place

Consumers- Ready to Drive their Health Care?

Greg Scandlen's thought provoking insights warrant further discussion:

First- Empowering consumers to participate in making their own health care choices actually improves health care quality and lowers health care costs

Second- Before Americans can receive all the information they need to make good decisions about their health care, they need to be empowered to make those decisions- they need the POWER FIRST

In other words, a new health care system needs to empower patients first!

Read My Response on Maggie Mahar's Blog

I just posted this response to Maggie Mahar's post, "Is Single-Payer Insurance "Inevitable"?(The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!):

The sky may not be falling, but certainly the value of the US dollar has.

And what of skyrocketing health care costs and projected insolvency of Medicare by 2019? Then what would become of 'Medicare for All'?

And what about lowering health care costs by integrating wellness and prevention into mainstream medicine?

My greatest concern about single payer is the potential complete elimination of Health Freedom for millions of Americans who depend on natural health products and services either alone or in conjunction with mainstream medicine. That includes millions of hardworking taxpayers of all ages. And if we lose Health Freedom, the sky may as well be falling.

The Health Care Revolution

Greg Scandlen makes some vitally important points in his lecture, posted on You Tube:

First- We consumers are paying for our health care, whether it be through taxes, deductibles, copayments or insurance premiums

Please join me and watch Part I:

Freedom to chose Natural Hormones- ACT NOW

Part of health freedom means the ability to chose a natural supplement; a great example is the use of natural hormones, recommended by many doctors in lieu of hormone medications- which have been associated with serious long term health consequences;

Please visit this link to The Health Freedom Foundation in regards to pending legislation to stop restrictions of estriol, one of the major natural estrogen hormones:  http://ga4.org/campaign/Estriol_Resolution

Moving Forward or Backwards?

My greatest concern with single payer insurance is what it will do for the integrative health advances in this country. To date, our government sponsored health plans have minimal access to natural health and wellness services.  And single payer means no freedom of choice. It's the government's way or no way.

Friends, this is our health we are talking about! Right now we do have some health freedom- we are looking to expand our health freedoms- not destroy them!

Before we rush into any health reform proposal, let us as Americans read the fine print very carefully. The decisions we are making today will affect us and our generations to come. Let us not be fools and rush in.....

Medicare- Crisis Waiting to Happen- For All?

It's no secret Medicare is in crisis; for the second year in a row, the Social Security trustees declared a "Medicare fund warning"- in short, with the era we are in with baby boomers retiring, Medicare will soon be depleted, putting our Social Security reserves at very high risk.

The new single payer, universal health care proposal is called "Medicare For All"- HR 676- The United States National Health Insurance Act. It all sounds great, except that no one is addressing the fact that Medicare Part A is scheduled to become insolvent by year 2019. The Social Security Trustees have triggered a "Medicare Fund Warning" two consecutive years in a row. We can only hope HR 676 never passes, for if it did, Medicare would become insolvent in the next few years- and take our Social Security with it. And in today's economic times, that is, quite frankly, totally unacceptable.

Millions of Americans seek freedom of choice by combining high quality natural health products and services with some quality mainstream health care. Doesn't that sound more cost effective? Keeping people healthy and preserving freedom of choice. I don't want us to be having this conversation in the next 3 years- what to do when Medicare runs out- let's face it, our economy cannot sustain any more major blows.Ler's choose health- and health freedom- now. 

Medicare For All vs Consumer Driven Health Care

Timothy Pitcher's article, written for Consumers for Health Choices, September 21, 2006, is well worth reviewing. Mr. Pitcher compares the premiums and out of pocket costs of "Medicare For All" compared to a Health Savings Account. Low and behold, the out of pocket costs for the Medicare For All plan were almost double of the Health Savings Account. http://www.chcchoices.org/articles/article7.pdf

When we hear single payer insurance, we assume it is free. My friends, very little in life is free. Today I treat Seniors on fixed incomes who cannot afford their out of pocket expenses for Medicare. And because they are on Medicare, they do not qualify for the free programs offered in the community and by the pharmaceutical companies. So many go without their medications and get sicker and end up in the hospital with complications; by the way, their health costs skyrocket and their quality of life is poor.

Before we jump into single payer "Medicare For All"- let's examine the facts- very carefully- rather than put all our eggs in this basket. Medicare is sinking fast; we can reverse this- not by adding millions of Medicare recipients through single payer health insurance, but by integrating health and wellness for all Americans. And with it, freedom of choice.

Health: Right or Responsiblity

I responded to a blog of Maggie Mahar's today on health rights and responsiblities: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/10/is-health-care.html?cid=133880499#comment-133880499

I get all this, however- as a doctor- I am considering the quality of care, or lack thereof, universal care would mean for our patients right now; I strongly advocate for all of us to get past our partisan biases and "clean up" the health care system- and the billions of dollars of excesses and waste- and for the comment from kazumatan, please don't eliminate freedom of choice- and please don't insult our libertarian friends- about health freedom they are 100% correct. In a reformed system there will be more than enough health care for all.

We've Got Work to Do....

A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund revealed that 82% Americans believe the U.S. health care system needs to be fundamentally rebuilt or overhauled.

Yet, what does this mean to Americans?

And what does this mean to you?

If you believe our health care system would benefit from an overhaul, or at least a "face-lift", please help us by sharing your thoughts. If you could include what you need from our health care system and are not getting, that would help alot.

I also think the more specific you can be, the better.

And thanks for taking the time to give us this very important feedback. It's amazing what can be accomplished from a group of concerned citizens- and patients- after all this is our health care system-THANK YOU!