DID THE INDIANS HAVE IT RIGHT? (Frazer Chronicles)
In the old days, I mean really old days, like a 150 years ago, many American Indian tribes dealt with sickness, injuries and death in a most efficient way, "at least to their way of thinking," they would take the sickened or injured out into a field, say their goodbyes and leave them to die. Once death came, the critters in the wild would take care of the rest, right down to the bone.
Barbaric you might say, well sure, but a 150 ago, times were barbaric, hell, brother was shooting brother in the Civil War. What, you might ask, is my point, "glad you asked," but first indulge me a bit longer, "I promise it will be interesting."
Medicine in that long ago time consisted of beaver pelts, some beads, a rabbits foot, tree roots and some leaves that looked speciously like marijuana. There wasn't a doctor, rather a tribal medicine man who administered to the medical needs of "his" people. Payment was in animal pelts, horses or women, whatever the medicine man wanted, I suppose.
To cure a head-ache, a hole would be drilled into the temple, the blood would be drawn with a horn type of apparatus out of the head, and the head-ache was either over, or terminal, talk about "curing or killing." Poultices were used on cuts, arrow or gunshot wounds and in many cases appendages were simply amputated when damaged beyond what the medicine man figured was savable.
Now lets fast forward to the 21st. century and modern day medical procedures and those powers that inhibit that process. It's called (INSURANCE COMPANIES), there are hundreds of insurance companies in the United States, each housed in huge edifices with all the splendor befitting an industry that controls the more then 290 million people's health and well being.
The executives of these companies drive around in big cars with their good looking blond associates, travel in jets around the country and take lavish vacations. At this point I would have to say that, "if I were in one of these exec's positions, I wouldn't want anything changed either," but I'm not, so I want change.
Those people up on Capital Hill who say "health care is in fine shape," are whistling Dixie, they either don't have a clue, or don't care, I personally think it's the latter, "they don't care." There are horror stories about people being rejected for medical procedures by health care companies for various reasons that amount to nothing more then excuses that thinly vale an actuary number that says "30% will either not protest the finding, or die before they can.
Everything in insurance, any kind of insurance, is based on numbers, statistics that are studied by "bean counters" armed with computers and slid rules that spit out all sorts of averages that dictate what insurance companies charge customers, totally based on risk factors of payouts. You don't have to be an Einstein to figure this one out, simply count the payments in, and the procedural costs paid out and you'll come up with a safe figure for the company to make a profit.
Health insurance companies have taken the science of figuring out the money in and the payments out to a whole new place. They decided that medical practicing doctors needed help with their diagnosis, and now routinely reject all sorts of doctor diagnosed medical procedures and in some cases medication. Health insurance companies have their "own" doctors that help them to decide when certain procedures are unnecessary and arbitrarily either say no, or wait several weeks to answer a request.
Premiums for most popular health insurance plans across the United States, since 2000, have risen an astounding 87%. Most employers across the same United States still offer some sort of health plan, but expect the employee to pay more and more of the premium, with a deductible that is either many hundreds of dollars, or thousands. In the meantime, workers earnings have barley risen.
Even though a majority of U.S. employers continue to offer health coverage after a usual waiting period, more and more are completely dropping their health benefits do to the raising costs, it is simply cutting into their profit margins, the reason most are in business in the first place. Some of the raising cost can be justified because of advancing medical technology and newer and better pharmaceutical treatment, causing doctors to spend more on their patients.
As costs raise, as more employers discontinue health care coverage, more and more people are thrown into the uninsured world of health care, where even the simplest of medical care is so expensive that these people can't afford any type of care. This opens up a whole new "can of worms" where people don't go to doctors, don't care for their children's health care and disregard even the most common diseases and illnesses until they become that they go to the emergency room where treatment cannot be refused.
Here are some sobering statistics that health insurers do not want people to know about, some of you will know about, others won't, but make no mistake, they are germane to today's United States population:
A. Life expectancy in Canada, 79.7 years, France, 79.2 years, Britain, 78.1 years, U.S. 77.1 years.
B. Infant mortality per 1000 births, France, 4.5, Britain, 5.0, Canada, 5.2, U.S. 6.5.
Britain, Canada and France have nationalized health care plans, as do Afghanistan and Iraq, both Afghanistan and Iraq's health care is paid for by the United States government from some sort of medical fund, with taxpayer money. "Does that tell you anything?"
Maybe the Indians had it right, maybe it's time for me to haul my fat butt into some field, sit down with a book and a jumbo bottle of beer and wait for the end.
In the old days, I mean really old days, like a 150 years ago, many American Indian tribes dealt with sickness, injuries and death in a most efficient way, "at least to their way of thinking," they would take the sickened or injured out into a field, say their goodbyes and leave them to die. Once death came, the critters in the wild would take care of the rest, right down to the bone.
Barbaric you might say, well sure, but a 150 ago, times were barbaric, hell, brother was shooting brother in the Civil War. What, you might ask, is my point, "glad you asked," but first indulge me a bit longer, "I promise it will be interesting."
Medicine in that long ago time consisted of beaver pelts, some beads, a rabbits foot, tree roots and some leaves that looked speciously like marijuana. There wasn't a doctor, rather a tribal medicine man who administered to the medical needs of "his" people. Payment was in animal pelts, horses or women, whatever the medicine man wanted, I suppose.
To cure a head-ache, a hole would be drilled into the temple, the blood would be drawn with a horn type of apparatus out of the head, and the head-ache was either over, or terminal, talk about "curing or killing." Poultices were used on cuts, arrow or gunshot wounds and in many cases appendages were simply amputated when damaged beyond what the medicine man figured was savable.
Now lets fast forward to the 21st. century and modern day medical procedures and those powers that inhibit that process. It's called (INSURANCE COMPANIES), there are hundreds of insurance companies in the United States, each housed in huge edifices with all the splendor befitting an industry that controls the more then 290 million people's health and well being.
The executives of these companies drive around in big cars with their good looking blond associates, travel in jets around the country and take lavish vacations. At this point I would have to say that, "if I were in one of these exec's positions, I wouldn't want anything changed either," but I'm not, so I want change.
Those people up on Capital Hill who say "health care is in fine shape," are whistling Dixie, they either don't have a clue, or don't care, I personally think it's the latter, "they don't care." There are horror stories about people being rejected for medical procedures by health care companies for various reasons that amount to nothing more then excuses that thinly vale an actuary number that says "30% will either not protest the finding, or die before they can.
Everything in insurance, any kind of insurance, is based on numbers, statistics that are studied by "bean counters" armed with computers and slid rules that spit out all sorts of averages that dictate what insurance companies charge customers, totally based on risk factors of payouts. You don't have to be an Einstein to figure this one out, simply count the payments in, and the procedural costs paid out and you'll come up with a safe figure for the company to make a profit.
Health insurance companies have taken the science of figuring out the money in and the payments out to a whole new place. They decided that medical practicing doctors needed help with their diagnosis, and now routinely reject all sorts of doctor diagnosed medical procedures and in some cases medication. Health insurance companies have their "own" doctors that help them to decide when certain procedures are unnecessary and arbitrarily either say no, or wait several weeks to answer a request.
Premiums for most popular health insurance plans across the United States, since 2000, have risen an astounding 87%. Most employers across the same United States still offer some sort of health plan, but expect the employee to pay more and more of the premium, with a deductible that is either many hundreds of dollars, or thousands. In the meantime, workers earnings have barley risen.
Even though a majority of U.S. employers continue to offer health coverage after a usual waiting period, more and more are completely dropping their health benefits do to the raising costs, it is simply cutting into their profit margins, the reason most are in business in the first place. Some of the raising cost can be justified because of advancing medical technology and newer and better pharmaceutical treatment, causing doctors to spend more on their patients.
As costs raise, as more employers discontinue health care coverage, more and more people are thrown into the uninsured world of health care, where even the simplest of medical care is so expensive that these people can't afford any type of care. This opens up a whole new "can of worms" where people don't go to doctors, don't care for their children's health care and disregard even the most common diseases and illnesses until they become that they go to the emergency room where treatment cannot be refused.
Here are some sobering statistics that health insurers do not want people to know about, some of you will know about, others won't, but make no mistake, they are germane to today's United States population:
A. Life expectancy in Canada, 79.7 years, France, 79.2 years, Britain, 78.1 years, U.S. 77.1 years.
B. Infant mortality per 1000 births, France, 4.5, Britain, 5.0, Canada, 5.2, U.S. 6.5.
Britain, Canada and France have nationalized health care plans, as do Afghanistan and Iraq, both Afghanistan and Iraq's health care is paid for by the United States government from some sort of medical fund, with taxpayer money. "Does that tell you anything?"
Maybe the Indians had it right, maybe it's time for me to haul my fat butt into some field, sit down with a book and a jumbo bottle of beer and wait for the end.
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