Health Care Reform Rant: It's the Same Old Sickness

So the "historical" health care "overhaul" was passed in the House in recent weeks:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35977921/ns/politics-health_care_reform/?gt1=43001


This is more of the same old propaganda: Co-pays, ridiculous prices, high deductibles, medical bills and of course, mediocre treat-the-body-as-machine primary care docs. A real overhaul would be free care for all, plus a medical system that treated the causes rather than the symptoms; a medical system that stopped sleeping with the big financial goldmine giants (Big Pharma, Medical supply cos, etc.). How about looking at how our American diet of refined sugar and wheat kills people? How our Western lifestyle of children and adults sedentary all day in schools, work places and then in front of screens all night leads to depression, apathy, Type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease? How the way we deny the body its basic needs all day in schools and at work ruins the organs and causes disorders? How child trauma and poor parent-child attachments lead to high levels of Cortisol chronically pumping through the body, leading to an erosion of the immune system and the body systems? How about how the drug companies kill thousands every year because its cheaper to pay off lawsuits than to lose money on allowing people to heal naturally both emotionally and physically? How about how the Government is fighting to have all vitamins and natural supplements labeled as "drugs" so that they will be considered "controlled substances" so no one can cure themselves? How about (besides vital emergency care), the medical field is all about symptom suppression rather than healing and curing? (Who the hell wants to "manage" their asthma as a recent medical insurance pamphlet sent to me suggests! "Manage"? I want a goddamned cure!)

How about when you finally find a wonderful specialist that treats you as a member of your own treatment team, your PCP or insurance company doesn't want to continue to renew the referral (or you find out that the specialist is now "out of network")? How about that medical insurance won't pay for natural cures such as classical homeopathy? And how about that there are cures for just about every illness, plus actual cures for cancer, but the FDA refuses to allow these to be released because Big Pharma and Big Medical (who lobby the FDA mercilessly with impaneled reps) would lose untold billions every year? The walks for cancer, walks for heart disease, etc., etc., all are futile wastes of people's money. There are already cures, but the people aren't allowed to benefit from them (in fact, there is some controversy that people who have actually come up with cures have been sued or have mysteriously died). Should I go on?

Because I personally put my attention on natural cures and naturopathic ways to support my healing as much as possible, I have been paying a yawning minimal attention to the health care reform issue. I have done research, listened to talks on NPR, read commentary, sure, but because I am aware that regardless of the so-called reforms, nothing will change, I don't invest too much energy. We will still have to pay co-pays, deductibles and struggle to afford specialty care. Of course there is no medical coverage at all for homeopathy and most other energy-based healing practices that actually cure illness at the source (and not just supress symptoms).

Regarding a different aspect of the Health Care Reform issue, I am further irritated by people on the far right referring to this minimally changing health care reform bill as "Socialism". I don't understand how changing a few rules qualifies as "Socialism". Are people saying that, for example, Canada's idea of free health care for all is a BAD thing?

A family member of mine, his wife and son recently visited the US from another country and his son became ill during the visit. They went to the emergency room here in the US and now are stuck with a huge bill. If the same situation occurred in Canada, they would have been seen for free.Years ago, a close friend of mine visited Canada and suffered an asthma attack during the trip. He was young and without health insurance or much money. To his surprise and delight, in the Canadian emergency room, his asthma attack was the priority, and he never was bothered to fill out forms while he was struggling to breathe. He wasn't burdened with a bill he couldn't pay and he could instead focus on his recuperation. 

Just two months ago, I found myself in an American ER. I similarly had an asthma attack and was struggling to breathe, yet the"triage" nurse deemed me physically adequate to sit and play "20 Questions" with the billing intake desk as my chest was tightening and I struggled to exhale. They ignored my frustrated demands to be treated first with a simple nebulizer treatment. It was upsetting for my son to witness, especially when they insisted my "oxygen level was 95%", therefore I was deemed to be "fine" to answer questions and wait for "the respiratory team" to arrive. I stated, "I don't care what my oxygen level reads, I can't breathe!" My 16 year old son, Brycen, found a solution: While I waited for nearly a half hour for "the respiratory team"  to arrive to initiate a nebulizer treatment (which consists of putting a few drops of Xopenex in a mouth tube connected to an aeration source), my son and I discovered that by him "karate chopping" his hands vigorously up and down my back, my symptoms were relieved significantly.

So let me get this straight-- to want one's medical emergency treated immediatly, compassionatly and without regard to money is called "Socialism" (whatever they mean by "Socialism")? I consider it to be a basic human right that every human being in distress and in need should receive help from their fellow humans without a cost. "Socialism"? I just call that compassion!