Health Care, the Economy, and our Families

Check out this great article from the Philadelphia Inquirer

It's scary to think that 4 million more families will face loss of jobs and their health care coverage this year (2009). The ripple effect will place more families in stressful situations, causing more substance abuse, more marital discord, and an increasing burden on our social services.

Imagine if you were to lose your job and health care coverage for you and your family tomorrow....... or next week. Imagine the sleepless nights and the challenge of keeping it all together. It's an arduous task to maintain healthy marriages and families, but with the added stress of no money or health care, I think most of us would buckle under the pressure (myself included).

Universal Health Care in the US......?

Could Universal Health Care be the answer to all our problems?
And, what are the problems with our current health care system?

Issues with our current health care system (Conn. Col. for Univ. Health Care)

# Fact One: The United States ranks 23rd in infant mortality, down from 12th in 1960 and 21st in 1990

# Fact Two: The United States ranks 20th in life expectancy for women down from 1st in 1945 and 13th in 1960

# Fact Three: The United States ranks 21st in life expectancy for men down from 1st in 1945 and 17th in 1960.

# Fact Four: The United States ranks between 50th and 100th in immunizations depending on the immunization. Overall US is 67th, right behind Botswana

# Fact Five: Outcome studies on a variety of diseases, such as coronary artery disease, and renal failure show the United States to rank below Canada and a wide variety of industrialized nations.

# Conclusion: The United States ranks poorly relative to other industrialized nations in health care despite having the best trained health care providers and the best medical infrastructure of any industrialized nation

What is Universal Health Care?

"More Americans are favoring a tax-payer funded government administered health care delivery system to replace the privately owned and administered system we now use. Universal health care is a form of health coverage which is provided by a government so that all of its citizens have access to health services. Canada, Western Europe, parts of South America, and Russia have programs described as universal health care." (http://www.insurancespecialists.com/industry-articles/universal-health-care/)

Pros and Cons of Universal Health Care

Here's a good news story to digest on the pros & Cons of Universal Health care from News Channel 8

Pay Now or Pay Later: Families and the State of Health Care in the US

The US Health Care system is in need of a major overhaul. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, "Experts agree that our health care system is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. These problems significantly increase the cost of medical care and health insurance for employers and workers and affect the security of families."

Agents of Change
Obama/Biden Health Care Plan

Good Websites
National Coalition on Health Care NCHC
Families USA

Current News
USA Today on the Ave. $ for Families
Washington Post

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Comment on SiCKO
I have seen firsthand the impact that our current health care system has on families.
A little background:
From 2003 to 2008 as a medical provider (Psychotherapist) in Minnesota, I treated individuals and families. Part of my duties were to obtain "authorizations" for behavioral and substance abuse treatment services for my clients from their insurance companies. Many times my patients were denied the necessary services to effectively treat their conditions. The insurance representatives were very disconnected to the field of behavioral health and seemed motivated to deny or limit services as much as possible.
A glaring example of this was in treating persons whom struggled with Methamphetamine addiction. For most persons with this addiction, recovery can take between 1-3 years.....and that's if their brains are not already permanently damaged from the chemicals. However, the insurance representatives response is to allow 21 days of inpatient treatment followed by 6 weeks of aftercare counseling (often only 2-4 hours a week of help). This is not even close to enough time to help an individual with this condition, let alone, allow time for the family to heal.