My insurance, which I am now paying for on COBRA (made affordable by a 65% subsidy in the stimulus package, thank you!) does not cover annual physicals!
Seriously, the one thing that could help reduce the severity of chronic diseases is early diagnosis and treatment. The other thing is regular monitoring. But my insurance, like many others, does not cover this. It only covers mammograms after age 40, although it covers annual pap smears before then.
It does not cover routine physicals for men, in spite of the fact that many male problems like prostate cancer and heart disease benefit from early diagnosis and treatment. It only sort of covers the reproductive system for women, but not general physicals. Yet thyroid, heart disease and all of those problems are best treatable when diagnosed early.
IMO, any health plan, public or private, should be required by law to cover general annual physicals for adults, just like many cover well baby and child physicals. The long term cost savings, not only in terms of cash but misery, would be staggering.
2009-06-11
Single Payer Health Care
Go and read this article: This is what losing your kidneys looks like. I'll wait.
There has got to be an end to the stratification of health care in this country. Why are we willing to have people's very lives dictated by private insurers? Why are we willing to allocated medical care based on who has the most money, the best employer, or a spouse with a good insurance plan? Why are we willing to say to people trying to start businesses, "You must sacrifice your health, and that of anyone you employ, to succeed" because health insurance is too expensive for a bootstrap company?
Before the 1970s, health insurance was based on a mutual, or cooperative, basis. Profit was not permitted. It sorta worked. Once the profit motive came in, prices went up, oligopolies formed, denials increased, exclusions soared, and refusals to insure became so prevalent that it isn't even funny.
If you've ever had acne, asthma, depression, diabetes, cancer, or any of a huge list of ailments you can not get insurance for anything even remotely resembling a reasonable price, if at all. No one will write you a policy that doesn't exclude what you need it for the most!
The "insurance" model itself is faulty. Insurance is supposed to be a hedge against risk. Thing is, nearly everyone gets sick or injured at some point during their lives. The only variables are when, with what, and how often.
What is needed is health assurance - a pool of money that everyone pays into that covers their medical expenses, no "if's, "and"s, "but"s or exclusions. Whether a person gets a boil on their ass, or cancer of the colon, it should just be covered. The best way to do this is with a federal (large pool) single payer health care system.
I am very, very tired of seeing PayPal donation buttons for self employed friends, artists and musicians trying to pay for uninsured medical expenses. The risk nowadays to life and limb from working for yourself due to insurance conglomerate perfidy is unreal.
Please, Congress, for once do the right thing: Single Payer. No triggers (conditions are already met), no mandates (requiring people by law to "buy" private "for profit" health insurance), no half-assed "public option" plans that are designed to fail.
Corporations do not have a "right" to profit from people's misery, stress, pain and death. We the people do have a right to "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness", and it's pretty hard to have any of those when you're dying from lack of money to pay doctors.
There has got to be an end to the stratification of health care in this country. Why are we willing to have people's very lives dictated by private insurers? Why are we willing to allocated medical care based on who has the most money, the best employer, or a spouse with a good insurance plan? Why are we willing to say to people trying to start businesses, "You must sacrifice your health, and that of anyone you employ, to succeed" because health insurance is too expensive for a bootstrap company?
Before the 1970s, health insurance was based on a mutual, or cooperative, basis. Profit was not permitted. It sorta worked. Once the profit motive came in, prices went up, oligopolies formed, denials increased, exclusions soared, and refusals to insure became so prevalent that it isn't even funny.
If you've ever had acne, asthma, depression, diabetes, cancer, or any of a huge list of ailments you can not get insurance for anything even remotely resembling a reasonable price, if at all. No one will write you a policy that doesn't exclude what you need it for the most!
The "insurance" model itself is faulty. Insurance is supposed to be a hedge against risk. Thing is, nearly everyone gets sick or injured at some point during their lives. The only variables are when, with what, and how often.
What is needed is health assurance - a pool of money that everyone pays into that covers their medical expenses, no "if's, "and"s, "but"s or exclusions. Whether a person gets a boil on their ass, or cancer of the colon, it should just be covered. The best way to do this is with a federal (large pool) single payer health care system.
I am very, very tired of seeing PayPal donation buttons for self employed friends, artists and musicians trying to pay for uninsured medical expenses. The risk nowadays to life and limb from working for yourself due to insurance conglomerate perfidy is unreal.
Please, Congress, for once do the right thing: Single Payer. No triggers (conditions are already met), no mandates (requiring people by law to "buy" private "for profit" health insurance), no half-assed "public option" plans that are designed to fail.
Corporations do not have a "right" to profit from people's misery, stress, pain and death. We the people do have a right to "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness", and it's pretty hard to have any of those when you're dying from lack of money to pay doctors.
2009-06-10
Another Right Wing Nut Terrorist Shooting
Two Shot at Holocaust Museum in D.C., Police Say. A right wing, conspiracy theorist, terrorist operative, James W. von Brunn, a man in his late 80s, "embraces a far-reaching conspiracy theory involving Jews, blacks and other minority groups."
Obviously, he heard the dog whistle from Gingrich, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, et al and it activated his personal brand of terror on the Holocaust museum. Two dead.
People will say "oh, just another crazy loner", and shrug it off. Don't!.
After all, aren't people who strap high explosives to themselves crazy too? Suicidal? Oh, that's political or religious - but so is anti-abortion or right wing conspiracy theory.
It's all crazy, but it's being orchestrated by people who aren't crazy enough to pull the trigger themselves. The mullahs of right wing talk and tent rallies get their followers all riled up with righteous anger, and they know damn well that the crazy, the people with a desperate, suicidal. homicidal bent will go and do.
The same thing happens in the middle east - religious fervor, hatred, desperation, suicidal ideation and martyrdom make terrorists. That is the core of what drives them. Religion, martyrdom, hatred and a screw loose are the core of any in-person terrorist operatives.
We have a problem: Right Wing Terror. The Christian Taliban, Christian Jihad, American Taliban, whatever you want to call it, is here and organized (and has been for decades). Now that they no longer have a friends and fellow travellers in the White House and Congress to act against their targets with the weight of law, they are taking matters into their own hands, carrying on "the Culture Wars" in response the dog whistles and coded messages sent out by their leadership.
Think our home-grown crazies don't have "training camps"? Do a little work on Google, looking up "Joel's Army", "Christian Patriot Movement", "Dominionism" and the like. Here's an article to get you started. These people have whole "towships" of separatists, plus a huge network of church "camps" and "retreats" (tax exempt land for 'religious' use).
The groups have a couple things in common: overthrow of pluralistic, secular government and hatred of anyone who does not share or obey their creed, strictures, and/or race. Just like the Islamists hate anyone who does not bow to their particular brand of theocracy or does not follow their rules, these terrorists want to overthrow the current government and "put things right" according to their worldview. Anyone who doesn't follow it or is a "lesser" being, dies.
This is no longer a "point and laugh at the wingnuts" game. We need to be aware and alert for any of these crazies in our midst, just to prevent more terrorist murders.
Obviously, he heard the dog whistle from Gingrich, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, et al and it activated his personal brand of terror on the Holocaust museum. Two dead.
People will say "oh, just another crazy loner", and shrug it off. Don't!.
After all, aren't people who strap high explosives to themselves crazy too? Suicidal? Oh, that's political or religious - but so is anti-abortion or right wing conspiracy theory.
It's all crazy, but it's being orchestrated by people who aren't crazy enough to pull the trigger themselves. The mullahs of right wing talk and tent rallies get their followers all riled up with righteous anger, and they know damn well that the crazy, the people with a desperate, suicidal. homicidal bent will go and do.
The same thing happens in the middle east - religious fervor, hatred, desperation, suicidal ideation and martyrdom make terrorists. That is the core of what drives them. Religion, martyrdom, hatred and a screw loose are the core of any in-person terrorist operatives.
We have a problem: Right Wing Terror. The Christian Taliban, Christian Jihad, American Taliban, whatever you want to call it, is here and organized (and has been for decades). Now that they no longer have a friends and fellow travellers in the White House and Congress to act against their targets with the weight of law, they are taking matters into their own hands, carrying on "the Culture Wars" in response the dog whistles and coded messages sent out by their leadership.
Think our home-grown crazies don't have "training camps"? Do a little work on Google, looking up "Joel's Army", "Christian Patriot Movement", "Dominionism" and the like. Here's an article to get you started. These people have whole "towships" of separatists, plus a huge network of church "camps" and "retreats" (tax exempt land for 'religious' use).
The groups have a couple things in common: overthrow of pluralistic, secular government and hatred of anyone who does not share or obey their creed, strictures, and/or race. Just like the Islamists hate anyone who does not bow to their particular brand of theocracy or does not follow their rules, these terrorists want to overthrow the current government and "put things right" according to their worldview. Anyone who doesn't follow it or is a "lesser" being, dies.
This is no longer a "point and laugh at the wingnuts" game. We need to be aware and alert for any of these crazies in our midst, just to prevent more terrorist murders.
2009-06-08
The Christian Taliban and Domestic Terrorism
People on the right whined and bitched last month about the FBI report that pointed out the risk of home-grown right wing terror. The bloviating talking heads like Malkin, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Coulter et al alleged that it was all a liberal conspiracy against them. Yet, usually in the same broadcast, them would use incendiary and eliminationist language about their enemies - gays, liberals, pro-choice advocates and abortion providers.
Last week, one of their loyal followers once again took up arms and followed their commands, killing Dr. George Tiller in his church. Now, this classic example of the Christian Taliban is claiming that more is planned: "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder said.
Still think that these people, these "Armies of God", "Soldiers of Christ", and "Joel's Army" are just harmless church groups? Do you really think that groups like Operation Rescue and Christian Patriots (incl Montana Freemen) are just protest groups?
They are terrorists, just like Al Queda, Hamas, Hezbollah and their ilk. O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin, Limbaugh, and even Cheney are their Mullahs, their broadcasts being more and more vitriolic exhortations and dog-whistles to their faithful followers. There is no difference in rhetoric, just language. Fighting "the great Satan" and fighting "the forces of Satan" are the same thing: words meant for the terrorist cells. Whether it's abortion, homosexuality or "liberalism", these mullahs of the religious right spew incitement to hate and terror against law abiding citizens. Even the pastors of churches get into the act, railing from the pulpit against homosexuals, liberals and abortion providers.
The leaders of these groups are more deserving of doing time in Gitmo than the footsoldiers we have there now. They need to be arrested, tried for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts under the Patriot Act (which they supported) and sentenced.
I would like to take a brief aside here to remind these dominionist shitheads of something: not all liberals are against the Second Amendment, and they will defend the Constitution against the Dominionist threat.
The patsies who regurgitate their talking points without question in supposedly respectable publications should take a long, hard look at just what it is their "leaders" are advocating. They are not Americans, they are Theocrats, looking to overthrow the Rule of Law for the Rule of Preachers and Bibles. They have shown over the last 15 years or more that they are willing to use the mentally ill and desperate to do their dirty work.
I don't think Jesus would approve.
Last week, one of their loyal followers once again took up arms and followed their commands, killing Dr. George Tiller in his church. Now, this classic example of the Christian Taliban is claiming that more is planned: "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder said.
Still think that these people, these "Armies of God", "Soldiers of Christ", and "Joel's Army" are just harmless church groups? Do you really think that groups like Operation Rescue and Christian Patriots (incl Montana Freemen) are just protest groups?
They are terrorists, just like Al Queda, Hamas, Hezbollah and their ilk. O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin, Limbaugh, and even Cheney are their Mullahs, their broadcasts being more and more vitriolic exhortations and dog-whistles to their faithful followers. There is no difference in rhetoric, just language. Fighting "the great Satan" and fighting "the forces of Satan" are the same thing: words meant for the terrorist cells. Whether it's abortion, homosexuality or "liberalism", these mullahs of the religious right spew incitement to hate and terror against law abiding citizens. Even the pastors of churches get into the act, railing from the pulpit against homosexuals, liberals and abortion providers.
The leaders of these groups are more deserving of doing time in Gitmo than the footsoldiers we have there now. They need to be arrested, tried for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts under the Patriot Act (which they supported) and sentenced.
I would like to take a brief aside here to remind these dominionist shitheads of something: not all liberals are against the Second Amendment, and they will defend the Constitution against the Dominionist threat.
The patsies who regurgitate their talking points without question in supposedly respectable publications should take a long, hard look at just what it is their "leaders" are advocating. They are not Americans, they are Theocrats, looking to overthrow the Rule of Law for the Rule of Preachers and Bibles. They have shown over the last 15 years or more that they are willing to use the mentally ill and desperate to do their dirty work.
I don't think Jesus would approve.
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