Okey-sounds bizarre, Health Care + Energy

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Permalink Reply by Clyde Childers on June 9, 2009 at 6:04am

Bob

It isn't tree farming, it's green farming that composes orchards, trees, other plant life including algeas. There are spieces of algeas that can consume more CO2 in an iron enriched environment than a single tree. But, the bill,currently constructed regarding cap and trade, fails to build a simple marketing system allowing for all Americans to participate. It is only constructed a very narrow segment of the industries, namely the fossel fuels companies and there friends managed by the Government. It just isn't necessary. Satellites can determine sinks and sources very well and Lidar systems can provide the necessary validation systems for enacting a market driven cap and trade system without all of this overhead created in the cap and trade bill.

Best Regard
Clyde Childers, see buildamericabuild.com

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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on June 9, 2009 at 8:46am

I was trying to find some similarities between Energy and Heath Care issues. Here's a few thoughts...

Read an article in the latest issue of Time Magazine about health care. Waiting times in the ER related to severity of the injury and response time needed, showed that often people with critical injuries were waiting 30 minutes for help, while others with non-critical issues that could wait 24 hours or more, were being seen by the ER in less than 90 minutes. This seems similar to needing an immediate peak energy output, but the peak resources are being diverted to non-essential locations.

What we need to do in both areas is to work on efficiency and delivering resources where they are needed most, when they are needed most. Prevention and healthy living choices, reduce the drain on ER services where speedy attention can be critical to saving lives. As with the Energy system, the least expensive resource is the one that is never used, whether through conservation, or proper healthy living choices. Regular maintenance of our homes and buildings, is the same as regular maintenance of our health, and our families and community health.

Maybe we can come up with some more ideas to get both issues on the table and come up with some solutions. Then, maybe we will have a healthier, more energetic country, requiring fewer trips to the Doctor and fewer calls by the Repairman.

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Permalink Reply by Clyde Childers on June 9, 2009 at 11:27am

The real saving to your health system cost would be to have everyone covered under health insurance. What hapen is most countries, is that medical cost drops because most people will go to the doctors and get treatment before it turn into a crisis.

I am favor of the national health system if we can figure out how to pay for it.

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Gina M.-S. on June 10, 2009 at 12:44am

So, it seems like our current administration wants to have fair, multi-input, influenced health care system without nixing the insurance companies. Welp, the opposition want to make sure they oppose to change the system...

Here are a few websites to give a perspective:

Conservatives for Patients Rights look under plans. The left side is not updated, whereas, the right side is not updated either, realistically, under "normal conditions"...

MSNBC's The Ed Show pretty much sums up what's up...

And problem is, "how will we pay for it"...

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Permalink Reply by Allen R. Gale on June 10, 2009 at 5:53am

I hesitated to get into this discussion but I had to register my opinion --

If you have noticed the news clips concerrning the Gov't health systems, like Canada, in the recent past it was noted that rationing of care based on "efficient and effective treatment" surfaces often. Having friends from Canada and a sister-in-law from Sweden they support these comments - healthcare "rationing" is the norm. If you read the text of the "Recovery and Stimulus" bill you would also see in the multi-page section on the medical records plan that a "committee" formed in the Cabinet, or Executive Branch (like the Czars that the Pres has created) wil be charged with evaluation of treatments - by examining the medical records that are supposed to be confidential - will "evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency" of treatments to establish guidelines as to what should be done for what cases. This is couched in the "increased efficiency of electronic recordkeeping" proposal. Agreed that now ins. companies often require multiple opinions before approving treatments and require less expensive treatments to be made even if there is opinion that they will not work is raising the overall cost of care, this is not good.

From what I have seen, the main cause of large increases in healthcare ins. and treatment costs is not medical. It is our out-of-control tort system. The first thing that needs to be done is tort reform. Civil suits - especially class-action torts - have to be responsible for a great deal of the healthcare cost increases and drug costs. Drugs are not developed in other countries because the costs are regulated by the Gov'ts, so we (Americans) bear the cost of drug research. Take a look at the prices charged in Europe for what are American drugs. One case in point is a particular cancer drug, Xelota (sp?) it is $900 per monthly quantity here and last time I checked less than $90 in Germany - SAME STUFF!!

Second, since the proposed Gov't Plan(s) will not have to make a profit and will be subsidized by taxes, they can undercut private insurers and push them out of the business, thus making a single-payer (socialized medicine system) by default, with the "treatnemt efficiency committee" deciding what is allowed and when. Is this what you want? It is certainly not what I want.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on June 10, 2009 at 7:38am

Allen, I agree we need to get rid of all those class-action lawsuit commercials, and the shady lawyers looking to profit off other peoples misfortune. Many medicines need to be more properly tested before going to market. Also, my daughter had a reaction to the MMR vaccine as an infant, but the doctors were reluctant to admit that may have been the cause of her seizure, even after the nurses pointed out measles spots, 9 hours after she was taken to the hospital. Months later, her Pediatrician admitted it was probably a rare reaction to the vaccine.

We also need to reduce America's over-medication. There are prescription drugs for almost every ailment, real or imagined. I even saw a commercial for a medicine to help you grow longer lashes. I have known several people who would mysteriously 'discover' symptoms for ailments, just like the symptoms mentioned in TV ads for prescription medications.

I only want to pay for necessary treatments and medications, and that is also what I want covered for my own family.

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Gina M.-S. on June 10, 2009 at 12:32pm

Here's the deal, the thing is MMR vaccines are not made in the US. With the Chinese adding melamine to dog food, how hard is it to think they don't add the appropriate stuff to make a liquefied vaccine?

Secondly, if you have been a part of a huge medical accident caused by licensed physicians, your perspective about Tort would change. There must be something done for profiteering off a person's unfortunate medical incident. Health Insurance and health care cannot be something people are trying to get rich quick schemes. As a country, the US cannot sustain it. It's too costly to have uninsured US citizens not getting care!

I am not talking about botox, face lifts for vanity, or veneer facings on a healthy set of teeth. I am discussing catastrophic care--have a heart attack, stroke or cancer--then come talk to me. Be told you are terminal, and if you go to Oregon or Washington States, they'll kill you because it's cheaper than it is to TREAT YOU!!!

When's the last time we had a CURE to something?

So, policy and practice are 2 different things. Folks who are pro/con to policies are NOT doing rounds of someone who outspent their drug benefits and needs another surgery to remove a metastatic tumor... That is what folks are discussing...

What does this have to do with "Energy Reform"?

We get back to Clyde's original discussion of CO2 capture with specific trees.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on June 10, 2009 at 1:12pm

It's a scary thing to wake up thinking your 1 year old is playing in her crib, then walk in to see that she is BLUE and having a seizure! Fortunately, she was able to get to the hospital in time, and she is now a happy, healthy 11 year old girl. We never tried to sue anybody, we were just glad she was ok, and the pediatrician finally agreed about the vaccine after we said "No more blood tests or anti-seizure meds, that's not the problem!"

We need to restore our country's health in many ways. A healthy energy system, providing clean energy, when and where it is needed, independent from foreign oil supplies. A healthy credit system, where we aren't over our heads in debt, with cars, houses and credit cards that we can't afford to pay for. A healthy, productive economy, where those who want to work, can find a job to support themselves and their families. And, a health care system capable of providing basic service to all Americans to live healthy lives, and emergency and long-term care for serious issues that may occur in any persons lifetime.

What are the issues that you are hearing about in the health care field? Are there huge differences of opinions between, Doctors, patients, and insurance companies?

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Gina M.-S. on June 10, 2009 at 1:40pm

As far as physicians--or rather clinicians--they are truly united. They are exhausted being unable to treat what they have trained to do for years.

The deal with patients, especially older ones, when diagnosed with a chronic condition are bombarded with all kinds of information, drugs and what to do. They are shocked that behaviors such as over eating, smoking mass consumption of alcohol to the point of cirrhosis. And if cancer sets in, self-management is poor. Just don't get old and obese. You've lost it... It cannot be blamed on you totally when all you have to eat is McDonald's, poor food choices or you were not taught how to prep healthy food options...

Then you cannot legislate behavior.

Insurance companies are running scared. Rick Scott at Columbia/HCA is the most vocal with his CPRights.org But, he is NOT a clinician and he wants to avoid the "intention to treat".

See a physicians oath is non-judgmental for better healing. But US care is directly headed to "triage care" and you cannot treat chronic conditions by triage. You cannot improve the health of people collectively by triage. It cannot work.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on June 10, 2009 at 2:26pm

Dr. Gina M.-S. said "Then you cannot legislate behavior."

You sure got that right, can't stop stupidity from hurting itself, by making laws against it. Some people just want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. Some will drink themselves to death. I had to quit drinking for 5 years before I could stop at 2 beers and enjoy in moderation. Many others, like my father-in-law, just have to quit to keep from killing themselves by excess. Whether it's alcohol, drugs, or Big Mac's, we need to learn how to moderate ourselves to stay healthy.

I hope Obama can get a Health Care program from Congress that will address the issues and provide basic care for all who need it. Some may complain about paying for the care of poor and homeless, but it is the humane thing to do for our fellow citizens. We can't fix everything, but we can't just allow them to die from neglect either.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Gina M.-S. on June 10, 2009 at 2:41pm

@Robert:

Another issue is that what we are seeing is an age phenomena. While some people have "mental function", they have no wherewithal to rationally think logically what is going on.. A lot of people start mental illness. Then the teeth go--i.e. 1 too many cavities, if left untreated, blood pressure spikes, sugar spikes. More mental instability. The some catastrophic event occurs--like heart attack, stroke, cancer, COPD, etc. And then, the rehab is costly--the person can't walk, can't talk, needs physical therapy, real mental health therapy, and their teeth fall out.

My, wouldn't it just be cheaper to help them while they are young, develop healthy habits, and maintain their mentality?

If you believe what others' say, like CNN or the Fox News Channel, you'd think differently. And even if you read everything, it still is not like it is on the ground, the field and the trenches.

Permalink Reply by Robert Schultz on June 10, 2009 at 8:51am

As I mentioned yesterday, a similarity between Energy and Health Care is that we need to reduce inefficiencies. Promoting prevention, maintaining health, and not using the resources frivolously. There are many poor, homeless and otherwise able to provide for themselves, that will need to be helped by the rest of us. Whether it is Energy needs, or Health Care, our society has the responsibility to provide some level of basic assistance to the least fortunate of our citizens.

Time Magazine
Friday, Jun. 05, 2009
The Five Big Health-Care Dilemmas
By Karen Tumulty

1. Will there be a big, new government system?
2. How can a nation already deeply in debt afford health-care reform too?
3. Can we really cover everyone?
4. What will be covered?
5. How will we bring down costs?

* Find this article at:
* http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1902708,00.html

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