Health Care Reform 2009

At some point in time–hopefully before the Social Security System becomes bankrupt–our lawmakers and leaders have to accept the stark reality that a continuation of the same healthcare system that we have been accustomed to in the past is NOT going to work in the years ahead. The system must be totally reformed--restructured in a way that incentives for providers to provide more and more service, whether or not it is medically necessary, have to be removed. Reimbursement must be denied for referral of patients by physicians to entities in which they, the physician-providers, have a financial interest: entities such as laboratories, imaging centers, day surgery units, hospitals, home health agencies; or to entities from which a physician receives a stipend in return for referrals. Joint ventures between hospitals and physicians must be scrutinized thoroughly and should always be transparent insofar as the public is concerned.

If the cost of health care is ever to be contained, the concept that more is better must be abandoned. Likewise, the health insurance industry must abandon the policy of ignoring over-utilization of services by healthcare providers and subsequently raising the premiums, deductibles, and co-pays--to be paid by the insured--when the cost of health care escalates from the medically unnecessary over-utilization of services. The health insurance industry should be mandated to focus on appropriate utilization and quality, instead of on loss ratios.

Basic Healthcare is a right of every person in this country and it should be affordable, available, and accessible. No one should be left uncovered. There should be no denial of benefits based on pre-existing conditions. If anyone is economically underprivileged, healthcare should be available through special federally funded programs. Individuals who elect to avail themselves of unlimited services over and above Basic Healthcare--without concern for whether or not those services are medically necessary--should be privileged to purchase health insurance for that purpose, without compomising the cost of federally funded Basic Healthcare for every resident in the United States.

How do you define Basic Healthcare? It should be rich in practice guidelines for all health care providers to follow in their care of patients, and its structure should reflect a consensus of input from all providers--physicians, hospitals, ancillary free-standing entities, nurses, and ancillary service providers, all of which must be held accountable for the expenditure of the taxpayers' health care dollars.

Is any political candidate or lawmaker brave enough to ignore the overpaid lobbyists and make those changes? If not our broken healthcare system is doomed to self-destruction.

Medication Error Cover-up

On Wednesday, September 24, 2008, one of the Corpus Christi local television stations reported a news item of significant community interest. The Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital, a part of the giant not-for-profit Christus Health System, was the site of a major medication error event: Eleven patients had been given doses of a cardiac medication by mistake instead of an innocuous drug ordered for some digestive disorder. There were two reports--on the 6:00 pm news and again on the 10:00 pm news. The report stated that the error had been confirmed, but the hospital officials had no comment other than to say they were looking into the occurrence. 

There has been absolutely no comment by any other news media and no comment or explanation by the Christus Spohn Hospital officials since. Isn't the public entitled to know: What were the drugs that were administered in error? What adverse effects could these drugs have produced? Was there any morbidity as a result of this error? What measures have been taken to assure that similar errors do not happen again?

The focus of concern by the hospital industry and the Joint Commission for the months and years ahead stresses the need for transparency and for patient safety . Can either goal be achieved with cover-up like we're seeing here with this occurrence?

A few weeks ago a medication error occurred in the same hospital system that received nationwide publicity--wrong dose of Heparin given to several newborn infants. It is understandable that the hospital would not want another life-threatening error to receive similar notoriety.

But the mystery still stands. How did the hospital manage to pull off the cover-up? And how often does cover-up occur?

Shades of Guantanamo

Our nation has a long history of global humanitarianism--fair and humane treatment of prisoners, avoidance of any semblance of torture, offering due process to detainees, providing aid to the underprivileged anywhere in the world, providing aid in the event of disasters, defending nations from aggression. When I think of humanitarianism around the globe, I think of one of my granddaughters who is in the Peace Corps, busy doing her bit to bring some pittance of educational light to the many illiterate and underprivileged in a foreign country. 

There have been times, I am sure, in the aftermath of terrorists attacks, that there have been occasions during interrogations of detained suspects, that the line has been crossed. Physical trauma, however, can never be condoned, but in the heat of any conflict it is understandable that every person has a breaking point--especially if that person is given the responsiblity of protecteing our nation. Thusly, we are thinking about stories, true or invalid, we've heard about the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

But I am talking about the treatment of millions of undocumented immigrants and their families right here in our own backyards. Click on this link and read the two Standing Firm articles posted on August 15th and on August 16th. See if you agree that these acts are not every much as dehumanizing and criminal as the stories we hear about the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

One: About the story published in the Spanish-language newspaper, La Jornada--ninety thousand, (90,000), Mexican children deported across the border without any government protection. Thirteen thousand five hundred, (13,500), of these children were orphans and have been forced to survive by begging, stealing, or becoming drug runners or becoming sexually exploited--treatment that is an affront to humanity and is in direct conflict with International Conventions on children's rights.

The Other:  About the ICE raid on the Dulles Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country. 42 workers, busily engaged in repair work on the airport, all skilled craftsmen--dry-wall specialists and welders--arrested on the premise that they were a terrorist threat to the airport. There was no evidence presented that would incriminate any of these immigrants as terrorists. But likely all will be deported, leaving wives and families behind without any visible means of support. To add to the breakdown in due process, these workers were denied legal representation.

What's happening in our nation? Will the next encroachment on individual rights be the constitutional right of freedom of speech? I think I hear a knock on my door. As a writer with a passion for human rights, is my personal safety in jeopardy?

Charles Clark

www.charlesclarknovels.com

What's to Be Gained

Yet another raid: on the plant that manufactures parachutes for the military in Asheville, North Carolina. Over 50 immigrants captured and detained for deportation, for many it will tear families apart, separate husbands from wives and children. When will this country ever address the immigration crisis by doing a root-cause analysis of the cause and direct efforts toward measures to discourage immigrants from illegal entry in order to support their families? There are so many ways to accomplish just that.

If any reader of this blog is so inclined, he/she might wish to read Leviticus (19:33-34), "When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

Are we a God-loving country of immigrants, built on the above premise? If we profess that we are, then we must cease this inhumane, shameful, cruel treatment of immigrants and pursue avenues other than the current enforcement measures to resolve this national disaster.

charlesclarknovels

www.charlescllarknovels

Dream Act

Few people have ever heard of the so-called Dream Act, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act. It is proposed legislation that has been kicked around Congress for over a year--much the same as illegal immigrants have been kicked around for a much longer period of time--that with its passage would make young undocumented immigrants eligible for certain benefits, if they qualify. It failed to pass when introduced in the Senate. It might come up for debate again since there has been growing interest in alternative means, other than enforcement, to address the immigration crisis. It should be passed since it would a step forward in a humane approach to a growing problem.

There are 1,800,000 U.S. raised children, many of whom were toddlers when they were brought into this country by parents who migrated here illegally. These children know no other country, they know no language other than English. These young people are not eligible for many of the social benefits that their contemporaries enjoy, such as tuition or student loans. They cannot apply for or hold a legal job, and unfortunately they are subject to being torn away from their families and homes and deported.

Should the Dream Act or a similar legislative act be passed, an undocumeted immigrant must meet certain qualifications to be eligible to participate:

• Must have arrived in the United States at an age of 15 or younger
• Must have been a resident for a consecutive period of 5 years
• Must have graduated from an American high school or hold a GED
• Must show evidence of good moral character and have no criminal record

The Anti-immigrationists often campaign their cause by inciting fear that the increase in the number of immigrants in the country will increase criminal activity. Think for a minute: if the 1,800,000 undocumented, young immigrants are deprived of education opportunities and cannot find a legal job, would they not likely be attracted to gang participation and be a threat to every community in the nation?

www.charlesclarknovels.com

Update on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 09:43PM by Charles

It is inconceivable that the Senate would defeat the DREAM ACT legislation. It was a calloused, inhumane action that will have disastrous consequences. The DREAM ACT gave hope to millions of young people who, through no fault of their own, were brought to this country by their parents who entered illegally. These children have grown up here, speak English, have attended our schools, many have graduated from high school, have assimilated into our culture.

What do they face now? At a time in their lives when they are on the threshold of opportunity to realize their potentials in society, they face the gloom of the difficulty finding employment, of joining the armed forces, of expanding their education, and of contributing to our culture. Think what path they will face. On top or the bitterness they feel, the discrimination, hopelessness,  feeling of worthliness, and the fear of deportation will drive many to a life of crime, street gangs and drug trafficing.

Any way you look at it, the defeat was purely politically and partisan driven and will be a black mark on our future from a human rights standpoint. How can that group of senators that voted againt the DREAM ACT celebrate the holy day of Christmas and sing: "Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men?" Have they no heart.  Disgraceful!