I Have A Dream....(health care issue)

[AutumnMist]

being recently diagnosed with a life changing disease and going through the maze of my insurance...I have been thinking about reform and those who don't have the options I do. For those who don't have coverage I am sorry. The government has buckled those who need care and cant receive it, or those who do receive it and we get sub par treatment for what we get. So the I have a dream thread is a calling for those to make a list of what needs to be changed in our health care in the United States...and what you would change if you could. I will go first.

1. That all people can have treatment without condescending and short sighted doctors when we see them. That we are all human and feeling first, before money and policy.

[OzarkDem]

1. Everyone should have access to quality health care...

even if they aren't employed. A diagnosis of a catastrophic illness like cancer means you're out of a job and out of health care coverage in one fell swoop. Its hard to make expensive Cobra payments when you have no job. Our current system has left an entire generation (non-elderly working people whose children are grown) with no safety net whatsoever.

[AutumnMist]

2. Absolutely!

Thank you for your point!

[knitter4democracy]

4. Disgusting, isn't it?

My hubby can't even talk about it without going red and furious in about two seconds. He's sick and tired of having patients in hard spots and unable to come see him when they need to or afford the meds they need.

[knitter4democracy]

3. That every hospital floor be fully staffed with RNs.

That everything be fully covered and fully reimbursed to the provider.

That everything be on one form with one set of code numbers.

That all doctors take Health Law in med school as well as classes on ethics and communication skills.

That all residents be treated as full human beings, that the hours restrictions be followed by all programs, and that the degrading process of making doctors be abolished and replaced with one that supports them as full human beings.

That all doctors' spouses get a vacation weekend every year (okay, that one's a bit over the top, but I sure can't wait for mine this July).

[AutumnMist]

6. A Vacation is good

alaska watching the whales? maybe warm beaches with clear ocean water? :) I would like either.

[knitter4democracy]

7. Ohh. I like both, too.

I'm getting a knitting convention this year, but I like the way you think.

[OzarkDem]

5. That adequate funding be provided for quality research

With Bush's massive cuts in funding for National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institutes, among others, its really starting to have a devastating impact on research at teaching hospitals and universities. Research programs are being shut down and some of our brightest minds are leaving the profession.

Its invisible to the public right now, but the impact of these cuts will be felt for years to come.

[Nimrod2005]

8. That I don't have to go get referrals from my asshole PP everytime

I need to see a specialist, I should be able to see an eye doctor when my eye hurts, and ass doctor if my ass hurts and s foot doctor if my foot hurts...etc.

No paperwork, no 800 #s, no pre-authorization...

[Vinca]

9. Health care shouldn't be based on profit margins.

There's a reason I can't afford insurance, but investors in health insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Basic health care, like a basic education, should be the right of every citizen. That's why Canadians are healthier than Americans: they've got it, we don't.