Transform Healthcare into What?????????????

OK, I am going to TRY to remain calm. I understand that the healthcare debate is like a loaded grenade and, depending on which room you enter, there might be fireworks! But, I lived in England for 2 1/2 years and I got a very good idea of what socialized medicine is all about. I even had a baby there.......I don't recommend it. This should tell you where I'm going with this...........

Let's start with what we can all agree on. Our system is broken. Piss-poor broken, to be exact. But,the current bill before Congress will do nothing to solve the root causes of systemic failure. So let's talk about the problem:

1.Our healthcare system has nothing to do with health or wellness. Case in point: I just finished reading a great book on nutrition. One of the main themes was how to use proper nutrition and supplementation to alter many disorders. The book talked about all of the biggies: mood disorders, ADHD, autism, mental health disorders and addictions. It was amazing to me to read the research and see that their is evidence to prove that many of the developmental, neurological and mental health issues we are seeing can be cured or managed through proper nutrition. Why don't our doctors tell us any of this? Because they do not take even ONE nutrition class in medical school (unbelievable) and your insurance company will pay for antidepressants, but, not the natural SAM-e solution. People view prescriptions as nearly free and they go for the cheaper option. Why don't we have a system that prevents disease?

2. Can we talk? It's a BIG BIG problem that we have so much illegal immigration in the U.S. In California, it is contributing greatly to the bankrupting of our education and healthcare system. We all know it's true, but, nobody, and I mean nobody, has the cajones (that's "balls" for the folks in West Virginia) to tackle this issue head on. If we truly need the labor provided by illegal immigrants then let's have the integrity to allow more people to arrive legally. Otherwise, let's deal with this issue first before we needlessly saddle Americans with the healthcare costs for people that are not even citizens of our own country.

3. I think your healthcare should have nothing to do with your job. I don't know how we roll this one back, but, I think corporate America needs to be out of the insurance game. It would make American corporations far more competitive globally because they currently compete with other companies in foreign countries that do not have these costs added into their product cost. I think workers should get the money their employers are paying for benefits and go out into the free market and purchase their own insurance just like they do their car insurance

4: I will never forget a guy I used to work with about fifteen years ago. He hated his job and had many other employment options. I asked him why he did not quit and he said his wife had breast cancer, and if he changed jobs, no other insurance carrier would carry a policy on her. That is just plain wrong.

So let me tell you what healthcare was like in England. Germany, France, and Canada have different socialized medicine programs with their own quirks and advantages. But, since I know about the NHS, I'll tell you about this particular system:

Picture 5-minute doctor visits where the doctor checks your child's ear beacause you said he had an earache. The doctor tells you she sees no infection and you can go home now. You ask her if she is going to check your son's throat and give him a thorough exam. She says you will have to make another 5-minute appointment for that.

Your Grandma needs a hip replacement, but, there is a two year waiting list. After all, this isn't an emergency situation. It can wait. Do you have any idea how much pain is involved when the hip bone is grinding on another bone day in and day out?

You have glaucoma and their is a revolutionary drug available that can save your eyesight. The health authorities tell you that you do not qualify for the drug until you go blind in one eye. This drug is routinely available in the U.S. Oh well, one eye is better than none! We have to ration out that eyesight.

Your sister has stage-4 breast cancer and her particular type is responsive to the lifesaving Herceptin drug. But, this drug is very expensive and it isn't provided in the U.K. It is a routine course of treatment in the U.S. Your sister's case was not worth the supposed financial risk because after all, she has stage-4 cancer and she is probably going to die anyway so why spend the money?

Then there is the hospital.....oh Mother of God..........the hospital..........

I had my daughter at a hospital in the U.K. that was supposedly one of the best. My first clue should have been when I toured the hospital and realized that our U.S. Veteran's hospitals look like the Hilton compared to these places. Did I mention that the beds had a crank where you rolled them up to sit up? No electric beds here, no sirree! It looked like something out of 1952.

My second clue should have been when a friend told me about her childbirth experience at that hospital. The midwife botched her episiotomy and she had to go in post childbirth and have the whole thing torn apart and restitched. That was a big ow! She had some choice words to say about that.

The maternity ward consisted of about twenty women in one big hallway like room. They place the baby right next to you.......there is no nursery. That's right.............just me, my baby and twenty other women with their screaming babies..........all crying through the night.

I was advised to bring my cleaning supplies to the hospital. I thought they were joking. But, no. There was one bathroom......count it.....one..... for all of those women and there is no janitor on duty. To get a clean shower and toilet, I had to clean it myself.

And then, there was the line for chow. All of the women walked down a long corrider and waited in line to be handed their dinner tray. This was one hour postpartum.

I lasted ten hours in that hospital and I called my husband in the middle of the night and told him to get me the hell out of there....NOW!

I didn't even tell you about the birth experience..........that would just be too much information.....but, suffice it to say, they almost killed me.

Are you getting the idea that I have nothing good to say about the NHS? Well, there was one good thing. Vasectomies are free (supposedly, trust me you pay for this in your taxes) and after that experience there was no way I was ever going to giver birth again. We're closing up the factory! Right before we repatriated back to the U.S., my husband visited the doctor and you can figure out the rest.

My fear is that Conservative leaders are spending too much time complaining about Obamacare and not enough time putting forth their own solution. The only one with a plan appears to be Newt Gingrich and you can read all about it at www.healthcaretransformation.net. There is some great information with a Cost Comparison for each plan being touted.

This is the kind of transformation I could get behind:

1: A system based on prevention and wellness, not sickness.

2: Put some competition in healthcare. Allow insurers to sell across state lines and compete for our business. Competition drives down prices.

3: No denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

4: Transportable Health Savings Accounts married to catastrophic insurance plans. If your kid needed an MRI and you personally had to write the check wouldn't you maybe call three places to see who had the best value? Competition is a beautiful thing.

5: Divorce insurance plans from employment and level the playing field between the self-employed and those of us that are lucky enough to have generous corporate benefits. Let corporations do what they do best and leave benefits to the individual. Employ a mechanism that insures this money will be transferred to the employee and not used to boost the profit margin for the employer.

6: Please have the courage to deal with illegal immigration. Even the Bible says you take care of your own house before you go out and aid everyone else. I'm all for generosity, but, this is just a no brainer.

Years from now I think we will look back on 2010 as a pivotal year in American history. Will it be the year America woke up from a deep sleep and decided to take back our country? Will it be the year we remembered that we are an independent self-reliant people that eschew socialism? Or, will it be the year that changed everything? Will we tell our kids about the good old days when we used to be free? Please consider that if you do not control your health, you have no freedom. Your very survival could be in question and be managed by a government that cannot even manage to stop a terrorist from getting on a plane when his own father gave us a heads-up.

I know it sounds comforting to think of relying on the government for security........especially when times are hard. But, we are a free people and with freedom comes responsibility. As for the healthcare bill...............we're better than this, America. We are so much better than this. It is time to step back and assess all of our options. Why doesn't Obama want us to see the negotiations on C-SPAN? What are they hiding?