There is hope and change coming to our health care systems. That hope and change will happen when the ruling gentry of our country seize control of all our medical industry. There is a precedent for government control over health care. Ask our veterans how that has been working out for them.
First off, ask them how far they have to go to get their VA medical care. All the veterans in my hometown have to drive three hours to go to their doctor. The GAO reports that 25% of veterans live more than 60 minutes from their service locations.
Secondly, ask them how long they have to wait for treatment. I don't just mean how long they have to wait in line once they are there. Also how long they wait for a necessary procedure. This has been a problem for decades and hasn't yet been solved. According to the GAO, even after spending $400,000,000 to gather data to assess waiting times, the VA administration has even failed at gathering the data. That's right, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to identify the problem and even failed at that. The GAO's recommendation? Hiring a PRIVATE FIRM to gather the data to identify the problem.
Third, ask them how about the quality of the facilities and care. Again, the VA hasn't been able to even collect the data about inadequate treatment. Again, the GAO recommended hiring a PRIVATE FIRM to gather the data to identify the problem. During an inspection of 1400 facilities nationwide, over 1000 instances of substandard conditions were recorded, including pest infestations, broken beds, and abusive staff. Unable compete with the wages offered by private health care providers, VA hospitals are poorly staffed, both in quantity and quality.
To further complicate things, the annual budget is decided by politicians. This is a key problem. Politicians take money away from sections of the budget that are functioning well to put more funding into sexier political projects. If a problem isn't reported in the news, it doesn't get funded. But once the Washington Post or New York Times reports a problem, politicians immediately want to appear to take action. Once the appearance of action is reported in the media, the funding disappears. Couple that with earmarks and pet projects, Congressional oversight and appropriation is inconsistent at best. Mostly Congress is just incompetent and crooked.
So, this is hope and change. The ruling gentry wants to take this model and force it on everyone in the whole country. It may or may not happen overnight, but it is their goal. And it will crush all innovation and place medical decisions in the hands of the ruling gentry.
A perfect example of the ruling gentry crushing innovation happened recently. While they promise to magically make health care more affordable and accesible, a doctor in New York City really did make it affordable and accessible. Dr. John Muney offers all his medical services (including ulimited office visits and minor surgeries) to memebers who pay $79 per month. Isn't it bizarre that paying someone directly for services seems like a foreign concept in America? Well, Dr. Muney started this crazy little scam last year. On Groundhog Day this year, Dr. Muney was ordered by the New York Insurance Department to shut it down because they defined his system as an insurance plan. Deputy superintendent for health of the insurance department Troy Oechsner stated, "It's not just a technical requirement to bust his chops -- it's to protect consumers. I applaud innovation, but we also have got to do it in a way that protects consumers."
How does this plan put consumers at risk? The ruling gentry says that it might reduce the number of primary care physicians available to the big insurance programs, which they plan on buying out and taking over. So, tell me what you think about the ruling gentry's promise of lowering health care costs and increasing accessiblity to health care, especially for the uninsured. Does it seem like a genuine concern? Or does it seem like a justification to seize more power? Now do you know why this makes me hostile?
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