Originally posted by BajaGringo
Through my life I have made the swing from "Liberal" to "Conservative" and now have ended up somewhere in the middle. I have come to the conclusion
that neither side has all the answers and the reality is that only the political hacks in Washington are the true winners in the war they create
between the two sides. A "war" where they prefer to isolate us to the two extremes where rhetoric is much more valuable than substance and both
parties are guilty of putting politics above issues. Most issues are neither "liberal" or "conservative" but "human" issues requiring thoughtful and
honest debate, responsible and long term planning and a willingness to take some medicine which may or may not be pleasant or sweet tasting in the
short term. As they are more interested in getting re-elected, no politician wants to be credited with handing out any foul tasting medicine. They
just want to be loved and re-elected.
As far as health care, I have abandoned my US based HMO and only see doctors here in Mexico for the last four years since an HMO "killed" my fourteen
year old daughter. Medical care is great in the US for extreme situations and urgent care. My 14 year old daughter went into cardiac arrest under
"managed" care when she didn't meet the "criteria" for an EKG by HMO standards when suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath. The HMO doctor
listened to her heart and said she was only suffering from minor anxiety. We asked for an EKG but were told that wasn't "needed" or covered and sent
her home with Tylenol.
An EKG would have picked up the Long QT syndrome causing her pain and shortness of breath.
The HMO went on to pay several hundred thousand dollars over the next few weeks when she was flown hours later to LA Children's hospital in Los
Angeles and the ICU care she received for those few weeks was world class and top notch with a doctor and nurse assigned to care for only her, with
all the latest technology around to tell us what was happening with her and explain that she was now brain dead.
I went to the hospital here in Rosarito last year with the same symptoms and was given an EKG without even requesting it. After several hours I was
sent home with some heart medication and new blood pressure medication. The total cost of the visit, care, EKG and medicine was less than $70 USD.
If my daughter could have just had some common sense care that could override HMO managed care guidelines she would still be with us today.
The US has the best medical technology available today. It does not have the best day to day managed care as HMO's put profits above lives. It is a
calculated algorithm and since they passed legislation protecting the HMO's from lawsuits they have "tweaked" that algorithm to take bigger risks and
offer less standard health care. Doctors are rewarded with bonuses for keeping managed care costs down by denying such expenses such as EKG's. Health
care dollars need to be managed to give the best care possible while keeping the costs affordable and it is not a "liberal" or "conservative" issue.
It is a human issue and I am tired of the politicians playing political football with it.
OK, I am done. rant over.
Have a happy fourth all you Nomads, in and out of Mexico... |
Baja has morphed into an extension of
southern CA.
That's a liberal. A conservative will check and make sure the water is deep enough to dive into. 
If you're gonna dive off a bridge, be sure about the depth.
