I Said Hey…What’s Going on? With our HEALTH?
Yes, we’re obese, overweight, sedentary…and you can finish that sentence all on your own, I’m sure.
And yeah, so we eat the equivalent of preservatives in our food daily that are also found in dish detergent.
But there are some of us out there who exercise and eat right, right? There, indeed, are.
Disease, chronic illnesses and cancer pervade across all lines of race, wealth and socioeconomic status in our country. And according to a study published in 2013 by New Scientist, America is failing across the board.
So, where are we going wrong? Is it more of our extremist capitalism trumping health and humanity?
According to the Commonwealth Fund’s web site, in 2010 the US came in DEAD LAST among seven countries in “health system performance” based on these measures: QUALITY, EFFICIENCY, ACCESS, EQUITY, and….(ding! ding! ding!) HEALTHY LIVES.Â
“So what?” you might say, “That was in 2010.”
Well, to answer your question, the Commonwealth Fund revisited the issue in 2014. Sadly, the results were the same. We came in last out of 11 nations for the exact same reasons. How is this possible, when America’s healthcare system is the most EXPENSIVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD? (http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2014/jun/mirror-mirror)
I will implore you to go to http://www.commonwealthfund.org to check out what they’re doing over there.
Some pretty enlightening and disturbing research has been done and it’s about time someone does something about it. These statistics have been getting worse for almost six years now and what have we done, collectively, as a nation? Watch it happen.
What a sad state we are in. To say that healthcare needs major reform is an understatement; how about we torch it and begin again?
Someone needs to Upton-Sinclair this bitch. It looks like there are some people who are trying. But how far can we get when healthcare is a FOR-PROFIT BUSINESS?Â
America has this silly, ill-advised notion that because we make certain information available to the public, we’re somehow excused from our disgusting behavior.Â
“Wage disparity is okay because all of the CEOs disclose their yearly earnings.”Â
“It’s okay to bankrupt someone who has cancer because we disclose it.”
“We’re up front and honest.”Â
Are you, though?Â
My husband recently met with a woman who’d had some thyroid and hormone issues. She made the decision to travel to the Philippines to seek treatment. After some blood work and a full body scan, they found a tumor. They treated the cancer with chemo and radiation as well as treating the thyroid problem, gave her enough medication to last her for eight months, and she paid just a little under $5000. TOTAL.
- Add some zeroes to that figure for an accurate number if all of that treatment were to have been completed in the US.
- None of that would’ve happened as easily or quickly or efficiently in the US. She would’ve been referred to specialist after specialist, given the runaround, placed on various six-month waiting schedules and waiting lists–and probably even misdiagnosed until the cancer had spread too far.
- If this doesn’t outrage you, then you are a psychopath.Â
This issue won’t be solved in our lifetimes. Perhaps it won’t be solved for many generations to come; it will get worse. Just like the mass-shootings (since technology isn’t going to just vanish and the NRA owns half of our government), the rampant racism, the wage gap, America’s obsession with overt discrimination and sexism, and the staggering wage disparity.
Even if elected, Bernie Sanders will be blocked at every turn by Congress.
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a Catch-22.
So, don’t worry. No need to wait any more, everyone. “Idiocracy” is already upon us. And it’s been encroaching on our freedoms for a long, long time now. It just had to take its time to weave the web and deceive everyone while doing so.
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Don’t know what “Idiocracy” is? Please visit these web sites:Â
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
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