01-10-2018, 07:16 AM
Lawyers are not the problem. The problem is the medical "system" in the United States. There is no system. There is simply "free" market chaos. Medical students here graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. In other developed countries, such as France, they pay $300 for tuition and graduate debt free. (http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2009/11/10...rench_and/)
The insurance system, bad to begin with, is subject to active sabotage by our own government. The pharmaceutical industry prevents us from bargaining over med prices. Pay $700 here for something that is not on your formulary....or walk into a pharmacy in Mexico or Thailand or Vietnam and get it for $10.
The problem isn't lawyers -- the problem is the failure to take a nationwide, comprehensive approach to resolving the many problems with the way in which health care is administered in the United States, including rural areas. The problem is philosophy. Other developed nations are usually governed by a "we are all in this together" philosophy. The United States is governed by a "every man, woman and child for him or herself" philosophy. This translates into cable companies refusing to provide service in rural areas in the United States, while other nations do their level best to insure that all of their citizens, including those living in rural areas, have access to the internet.
As for the current situation here, I am definitely not pleased with Dr. Harmeling's decision to go "country club" where you pay a monthly subscription fee. I do not know whether this will work on this island. I wish him all the best and hold him in high regard. But this step seems a little risky for all concerned. Time will tell.
As for Kaiser, I have avoided it thus far because of the turnover in doctors. I don't like that idea. Others have no problem with it and there is a certain beauty to getting put on a plane and seeing a specialist elsewhere. Specialists elsewhere are....how do I put this? Better.
On an island you have to take the good with the bad. I walk into Target looking for Fage 0% fat yogurt. And the shelf-raiders have arrived before I have. Gone. Maybe for awhile. I try to be philosophical about such things and repeat to myself "I live on a friggin'island".
As for medical care, though, I am not philosophical about it at all: if Hawaii Island were a department of France, we would have excellent, nearly free medical care. We would have higher taxes, perhaps, but you get what you pay for. Too many people in this country die or remain very sick for lack of access to healthcare. Solve the problem at the national level, and you solve it here, too.
The insurance system, bad to begin with, is subject to active sabotage by our own government. The pharmaceutical industry prevents us from bargaining over med prices. Pay $700 here for something that is not on your formulary....or walk into a pharmacy in Mexico or Thailand or Vietnam and get it for $10.
The problem isn't lawyers -- the problem is the failure to take a nationwide, comprehensive approach to resolving the many problems with the way in which health care is administered in the United States, including rural areas. The problem is philosophy. Other developed nations are usually governed by a "we are all in this together" philosophy. The United States is governed by a "every man, woman and child for him or herself" philosophy. This translates into cable companies refusing to provide service in rural areas in the United States, while other nations do their level best to insure that all of their citizens, including those living in rural areas, have access to the internet.
As for the current situation here, I am definitely not pleased with Dr. Harmeling's decision to go "country club" where you pay a monthly subscription fee. I do not know whether this will work on this island. I wish him all the best and hold him in high regard. But this step seems a little risky for all concerned. Time will tell.
As for Kaiser, I have avoided it thus far because of the turnover in doctors. I don't like that idea. Others have no problem with it and there is a certain beauty to getting put on a plane and seeing a specialist elsewhere. Specialists elsewhere are....how do I put this? Better.
On an island you have to take the good with the bad. I walk into Target looking for Fage 0% fat yogurt. And the shelf-raiders have arrived before I have. Gone. Maybe for awhile. I try to be philosophical about such things and repeat to myself "I live on a friggin'island".
As for medical care, though, I am not philosophical about it at all: if Hawaii Island were a department of France, we would have excellent, nearly free medical care. We would have higher taxes, perhaps, but you get what you pay for. Too many people in this country die or remain very sick for lack of access to healthcare. Solve the problem at the national level, and you solve it here, too.