Texas Drifter Indigent Health Care Skeletons
Marshall’s Law Dateline – Much of information in following writing exercise was learned from four year discreet research project. Concept started with idea that best way to learn about indigent health care was to be indigent citizen. Texas Drifter spent four years with “legal” indigent status achieved by owning no property and living on average one hundred twenty dollars a month which can be verified through tax records.
Premise for assignment was based on following reports.
1. World Health Care Report June 21, 2000: U.S. spends higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country, but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to health care performance standards.
2. Anderson RN “deaths”: leading causes for 2000 National vital statistics Reports 50 (10), 2002.
Heart Disease 710,760
Cancer 553,091
(Incompetent) Medical Care 225,400*
Stroke 167,661
Lung Diseases 122,009
Accidents 97,900
• Texas Drifter Note – this number probably higher due too inadequate reporting system failures.
3. Medical Errors Breakdown – JAMA (2000: 483-485:
Medication Errors 7,400
Unnecessary Surgery 12,000
Errors in Hospital 20,000
Hospital Bourne Infections 80,000
Adverse Drug Effects 106,000
Other factors to consider are adverse drug affects to patients by prescriptions prescribed outside of hospital. Reader’s assignment, consider serious and fatal adverse drug reactions (ADR) in places like doctor’s offices, clinics, and nursing homes. Clue is “prescription cocktails” which result from different doctors prescribing medicines to same patient but not communicating as to effects of combined prescriptions.
Texas Drifter suggests other policy consequences not included above include:
1. stabilize and let die somewhere else;
2. delay and keep delaying approval of client’s application until client dies to save provider expenses (public sector agencies better at this than private sector);
3. other policies may be listed later; as above do not include deaths from greed, negligent, prejudicial policies based on gender, race or ethnic characteristics of indigent patients (especially those of Western European heritage).
As repetition is good training tool, reader might remember following excerpt from All Right Magazine Stabilize Then Let Die (March 21, 2011):
Definition of indigent: level of poverty in which real hardship and deprivation are suffered and comforts of life are totally lacking. Brutal reality the majority of America’s Black and Hispanic minorities addicted to welfare, who are also known as public subsidy addicts have disposable incomes approaching working families making sixty thousand dollars before taxes. Democrat Party’s institutionalized “welfare addicted” voting block in reality averages thirty thousand to forty thousand dollars disposable incomes which eliminates this group from any serious list of “poor people”.
Another factor affecting indigent health care involves government subsides and regulations which only increases demand and never supply; these policies are inevitably going to raise health care costs not only for indigents but all health care consumers. Comparable example is how government subsidies have increased education prices by increasing demand without increasing supply of education services.
Best solution for America’s health care problems is ethical capitalism with accountability by market prices plus civil and criminal due process liabilities. Such a solution does not seem imminent as much of America’s political powers are in hands of unaccountable unconstitutional aristocratic bureaucratic fascists (U2ABF). Hopefully things will change after 2012 elections, only time can answer that question.
Some observations about government involvement in health care includes following examples. Some results of government regulations are causing poorer services for health care consumers. First is non-profit status hospitals and organizations sneakily operating like for profit hospitals and organizations.
Two some health care processes that can result from patient’s “blind faith” in health care providers are not good:
1. misdiagnosis
2. misapplication of services and treatments
3. negligent adverse drug reactions
4. other bad results which can include excessive financial costs
Consequences of above can be: death, coma, crippling, make health conditions worse, and other less than desirable results. Moving on to excessive financial costs, which can be based on: excessive number of visits; non-competitive excessive prices per visit; unnecessary referrals, kickback for unnecessary referrals; unnecessary tests; marking up unnecessary tests above lab costs three hundred to four hundred percent to patient; “rabbit trail” treatments and therapies to “soak” patient’s insurance, budget, or health care grant. Reader can provide additional examples to compliment following example.
One physician for services, lab tests, and prescriptions charged about three thousand dollars over six month period. Another physician providing exactly same services, same tests, and prescription medicines charged four hundred twenty dollars over six month period. Lesson is shop for best health care services at best prices. More details of Texas drifter personal experience may be described in other writing exercises.
This writing exercise in no way suggests that all physicians and health care professionals are incompetent, or driven by greed, of prejudicial ideas as that would be totally inaccurate; at least in South Texas where most of information came for this writing exercise, Texas Drifter would guess that about one fourth of those involved in providing health care services should be considered honorable professionals who represent good guys. It is the other three fourths of medical professionals that medical care retail consumers should try to avoid.
Remember societies are judged by how they treat the least of the least. More information on this writing exercise theme at later date; until then enjoy your life it is the only one you have; and most of all, try not to become a health care skeleton.
