What is health care reform? Everyone wants this, yet no one knows what this is or should be. There is widespread agreement that the U. S. health care system is broken, but what to do? Yes, our nation’s number one problem is health care and I do believe it can be fixed; but is it in anyone’s best interest to do so?
Clearly, this is not a new problem (at least 50 years old) and many attempts to fix health care have been repeatedly tossed away. Why will it be different now? Once again we are asking the monetary beneficiaries of this system (doctors, politicians, healthcare administrators, healthcare educators, drug companies, medical equipment manufacturers, etc.) to make a plan that improves (reduces) health care while their reward, sales and profits, will be reduced by reducing illness. Therefore, does it seem possible or probable that our medical-industrial system will endorse the promotion of health and wellness?
No, it is not! So why then would anyone think this will happen within the political or current health care systems? The only logical people to be developing and demanding a beneficial and low-cost health plan that works are those with no vested interests in illness, rather those with their own and their families health, wellness and wealth in mind – that is you and I. Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago stated and realized this.
Alternatively, our leaders are advocating hypothetical solutions such as electronic medical records that are totally unproven and simply line the pockets of the current medical-industrial complex.
Health will never be seen again unless we all stand up and demand a return of our health from our nation and its leaders! By continuing as we have for the past 100 years, we all can watch the current 3 trillion dollars annually expended on sick care escalate to 4 trillion dollars within our lifetime and watch the economy falter even further.
Darrell L. Tanelian, M.D., Ph.D.
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