As to people's behavior and health - I have always been in favor of a
bigger tax on the obvious tobacco and ethanol. How about a copay
proportional to (BMI - 26) Or (Mean BP - 105) Or (Resting HR - 60) Or
???
--
James S. Smeltzer, MD, FACOG, SMFM
Consultant, Maternal Fetal Medicine
Wellstar Physicians' Group
Northwest Women's Care
787 Campbell Hill St
Marietta GA 30060
James.Smeltzer@wellstar.org
VM 678-290-3035
Off 770-528-0260
Page 404-318-3451
>>> Terry DuBose <terrydubose@sbcglobal.net> 3/9/2008 11:52 AM >>>
I agree that paying for universal health care is an issue. But we
can't take it with us, and Denmark seems to have found some answers.
With a 50% tax rate, they are the most content people on Earth, it
appears:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797.shtml
Peace, Terry
Ellerd Family <ellerd@stx.rr.com> wrote:
v\:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } o\:* { BEHAVIOR:
url(#default#VML) } w\:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } .shape {
BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) }
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } I understand the
social aspects of this...the problem becomes how to pay for it. Even in
Cuba "someone" has to pay for it. The idea of providing everyone with
healthcare is a global concern and wonderful on its face...but then the
reality sets in and the next question becomes...
How do we fund it and keep our economy viable to help other countries
achieve the same?
I did watch the preview, however, with documentaries I never take
them on face value. I watch and listen and then research on my own. In
general they always tend to be slanted towards what the maker wants you
to see. I prefer making informed judgments rather than have them fed to
me with a spoon. There are plenty of sources lauding the wonders of NHS
and plenty of others describing the horror stories and rationing of
healthcare. Which to believe? That is for you to decide on your own.
Now that you mention life expectancy...are we asking the question of
whether it is due to our healthcare system or our sedentary lifestyle
and access to cheap, easy, fat/sugar laden sources of food? Is there a
McDonald's on every corner in Cuba? Do people have the same access to
technology in Cuba that Americans do? Do they sit on their tookus all
day and surf the internet and never exercise?
I believe the statistics, what I am not sure of is whether the
numbers are the result of personal lifestyles or the failure of the
healthcare system. And if you fix one, have you really fixed the other?
Will a tax payer funded healthcare system teach our society anything
about personal responsibility in what we shove in our faces or how much
we move? Will it cure the epidemic of lack of personal responsibility
for our own health? We can point at big corporations all day long and
say that they provide us with cigarettes, alcohol, and cheap
sustenance....but in the end are they holding the fork/cigarette/drink
for us? Will the tax payer funded healthcare system cure this or will it
just treat an exponentially growing problem until it bankrupts us all?
Interesting discussion by the way...discourse is always fascinating.
Shelley
From: DuBose, Terry
To: Multiple recipients of list ULTRASOUND
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:06 AM
Subject: RE: Important PBS series in March
“Good hard numbers in this discussion would be helpful in
demonstrating the disparities of the systems, and at that point I think
it should
be determined by the individual which they feel is more advantageous
or more broken.”
Here are the world rankings for “HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY” The USA
is 24, below all other industrialized nations.
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthy_life_table2.html
If you actually watched the preview for UnNatural Causes
documentaries, you heard the statistic that the USA pays nearly half of
all the health dollars paid by the entire world, yet we rank 30th in
life expectancy… below Cuba according to this.
http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/disclaimer.html
Why does one stat say we are 24th and the other 30th, different ways
of calculation, or different time periods? Either way, for the money we
spend, we are not getting much effectiveness when compared to other
nations.
Terry J. DuBose, M.S., RDMS, FSDMS, FAIUM
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