The media is helping the GOP in the health care debate

Much of the media, however unwittingly, is helping the Republicans in the health care debate.

No doubt, TV and print journalists claim they’re playing the big story right down the middle:
– The Republicans claim the Democrats want “socialized medicine,” the old conservative pejorative for national health insurance. The Democrats say no way.
– The media simply reports the charges and the denials and calls it “fair and balanced” news coverage.

This old reporter calls it biased coverage, even it it’s not necessarily intentional. Here’s what I mean.

If all, or most, of what we see on TV or read in the newspaper about health care is Republicans saying the Democrats are for “socialized medicine” and the Democrats protesting they’re not, a lot of people are going to conclude that “socialized medicine” really is bad medicine because neither party wants it.

What the Democrats – even liberals – want isn’t anything nearly as comprehensive as national health insurance programs in other countries. Nonetheless, the Republicans call it “socialized medicine.”

The Republicans know “socialism” is a dirty word in America, the most conservative and capitalist industrial democracy. So with a little help from the media, they have been able to frame the health care debate primarily between American “free enterprise” and alien “socialism.”

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a reporter’s job to report, not editorialize. But this old reporter wishes the media would start doing some real reporting on what “socialized medicine” means in other industrial democracies. (We’re the only one without some form of comprehensive national health insurance for everybody.)

But the media seems to prefer playing up “horror stories” of poor souls needlessly suffering, and even dying, in foreign countries with “socialized medicine.” The GOP and its allies in the insurance and private health care industries are feeding most of the stories to reporters.

The Republicans most commonly cite Canada and Great Britain, both of which have comprehensive national health insurance systems, as examples of why America doesn’t need “socialized medicine.”

Many of the “horror stories” are about ill or injured Canadians who say that they had to come to the U.S. to get needed medical care – and that they are grateful to have such a nice neighbor. But I don’t see nearly as much on TV or in the newspaper about other Canadians who say that the “horror stories” are the exception, not the rule, and that many of the stories are not even true.
At the same time, I haven’t seen the media ask the most obvious question about “socialized medicine” in Canada and Britain: If it’s so bad, why don’t the Canadians and British get rid of it?

They can any time they wish. Canada and Britain are every bit as democratic as the U.S.

The Canadians and British vote in and vote out their government leaders, like we do. So why haven’t they elected majorities to their parliaments who would ditch “socialized medicine?”

Even so, the media “horror stories” have doubtlessly convinced a lot of Americans that most Canadians – Britons, too – must hate their public health care systems and would surely prefer a mostly private system like ours.

But if public opinion polls are accurate, most Canadians, and evidently most Britons, like their “socialized medicine” and definitely don’t want what we have. (The U.S. is the only industrial democracy without some form of comprehensive national health insurance.)

A recent Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey hasn’t grabbed many headlines south of the border. But the poll showed that 82 percent of Canadians believe their system is better than ours.

I haven’t been a working reporter for years, so my sources aren’t what they used to be. I looked for a similar poll on health care in Great Britain but couldn’t find one any more current than a 2004 Gallup survey. That one said “only 21% of British citizens would like to see the government-run British system replaced with a system based mostly on private insurance.” My guess is the numbers haven’t changed much in five years.

Here’s another question I’d like to see more reporters asking the Republicans (and Blue Dog Democrats): Can you give us solid proof – not just anecdotal “horror stories” — that “socialized medicine” is making lives shorter and less healthy for Canadians and Britons?
It didn’t take me long to mine some interesting numbers off the Internet. A source I found says life expectancy at birth in Canada is 81.23 years, 79.01 in Great Britain and 78.11 in the U.S.

“Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country,” the source explained.

Republicans and Blue Dogs might dismiss the numbers as cooked, maybe even “socialist propaganda” from Health Canada or the British National Health Service.
The stats — and the explanation – come from the CIA’s World Factbook online.

The Factbook also says the infant mortality rate in the U.S. is 6.26 deaths per 1,000 live births. The rate is 5.04 in Canada and 4.85 in Great Britain. “This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country,” according to the Factbook.

Meanwhile, James Clancy, national president of Canada’s National Union of Public and General Employees, wants to help set the record straight about health care in his country.

He sent a letter to President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and every member of the House and Senate, inviting them to contact him about his country’s health care system or to come see it first hand.

“I would be pleased to speak or meet with you at anytime, or if you’re interested we could arrange a ‘study mission’ to Canada, to ensure you have an accurate picture of the benefits and popularity of Canada’s most cherished social program,” Clancy wrote. He said he is concerned “about the scurrilous misrepresentations of Canada and our single-payer health system in the debate over the future of health care in the United States.”

He added, “When it comes to health outcomes, on almost every critical measure, whether it is life expectancy rates, infant mortality rates, or potential years of lost life, Canada rates much better than the U.S. and we’re among the best in the world. Notwithstanding the ‘real life’ stories you’ve heard in TV ads launched by the group Patients United Now [an ultra-conservative U.S. group], a very strong majority of Canadians who use the system are highly satisfied with the quality and standard of care they receive.”

Clancy also wrote that, “In terms of controlling costs, health spending in Canada is on par with most countries in the Western world and it’s substantially lower than in the U.S. And yet we devote a smaller portion of Gross Domestic Product to health care today than we did over a decade ago. It’s totally unthinkable to Canadians to experience bankruptcy due to medical bills, as do over one million Americans every year. Unlike in the U.S., not a single Canadian who is unemployed has lost the ability to access health care during the current economic recession.

“In addition, our single-payer system provides both small and large businesses in Canada with a clear competitive advantage. Employers don’t have to provide basic health care for their workers – our single-payer system does that. Our businesses also enjoy the benefits of a healthier and more productive workforce thanks to our universal system. Unlike in the U.S. where basic health care is a major source of labour relations strife, it’s hardly an issue at the bargaining table in Canada. We also enjoy greater labour mobility because workers who don’t have to worry about losing health benefits are more willing and able to switch jobs and move to where the work is.

“Finally, what you’re being told about government-run health care with patients suffering and dying on wait lists is nothing but lies. No need for emergency or urgent care is ever neglected in Canada. If your doctor says you need the care urgently, you get it, period. Moreover, Statistics Canada reports that the median wait time for elective surgery is four weeks and the median wait time for diagnostic imaging like MRIs is three weeks. And contrary to popular myth, we’re free to choose whatever doctor we want. And all decisions about care and treatment are left to patients and their doctors – there’s no interference by the government or private insurance companies.”

Clancy concluded, “an objective review of the evidence shows that Canada’s single-payer system has consistently delivered affordable, timely, accessible, comprehensive and high-quality care to the overwhelming majority of Canadians on the basis of need, not wealth. It has also contributed to our international competitiveness and the productivity of our workforce.”

Maybe I missed it. But I haven’t seen anything about Clancy’s letter on my TV news or in my local newspaper. But my guess is Clancy would also welcome our Fourth Estate to check out the Canadian health care system. Good reporters are glad to go where the story is.

Anyway, “fair and balanced” journalism goes deeper that just reporting charges and denials — and, for that matter, focusing on health care bill “deadlines,” which party is going to “win” the health care “battle” and nutty charges from far-right-wing crazies that the Democrats’ “socialized medicine” will lead to mass murder of grandmas and grandpas.

If our scribes and TV talking heads were to take Clancy up on his offer, I’ve got a pretty good idea what they would find. My guess is for every Canadian the Republicans or some ultra-conservative group trots out to trash Canada’s single-payer system for the U.S. media, thousands more Canadians would say good things about their system. I’d also bet that most Canadians who would gripe about their system would quickly add it’s better than what we’ve got.

Of course, happy seldom grabs headlines or leads the six o’clock news stateside, no matter what the story is about.

Las Vegas: Physician Family Medicine

Desert Springs Hospital is assisting an established single-specialty group recruit two additional primary care physicians for employed positions.

This is a well established practice, located close to the heart of Las Vegas. The group has 15 providers (14 physicians, 1 PA) and 70 staff members spread over three office locations, with staff members typically "based" at a single location.

Staff physicians average 20- 25 patients per day in office, with a small number in hospital. Hospitalist handle all in-patient care. The practice also offers ancillary services such as X-Ray, lab, echo, ultrasound, and other diagnostic testing.

The group enjoys exceptional physician retention due to the high earning potential. Staff physicians are paid a percentage of individual gross revenue, so each member has complete control over their compensation. Some members earn well above the MGMA’s 90th percentile.

Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center, a 286-bed acute care facility located in southeast Las Vegas, has been providing quality healthcare to the residents of Southern Nevada since 1971. The hospital provides 24-hour emergency services, including a fast-track area in the ER to treat less acute patients. The hospital has long been referred to as the "Heart Hospital" by long-time residents, due to its solid reputation as a leader in cardiac care. The hospital also has three full-service catheterization laboratories, a 107,000 square foot Medical Office Building and an Outpatient Surgery facility. It is also home to the Diabetes Treatment Center.

An Outsider’s Take on American Medicine

Jonathan Kaplan’s The Dressing Station was published in 2001, but I am only reading it now. Much of the book is about battlefield medicine, but one part concerns his coming from Britain to America in the late 1980s. Born in South Africa, he attended medical school there, then went to Britain rather than be drafted into the military. With research budgets cut under Thatcher, he came to America to be able to pursue his medical career.

After his dreary British experience during a period of budget cutbacks, he greatly enjoyed the cheerful commercialism and general prosperity of American medicine. He promptly found a research project to work on that would enable him to write a Master’s thesis, and the work was fun and went swimmingly.

Nonetheless, Dr. Kaplan was quite disconcerted by some of the differences between British and American medicine. Working on another study, he reviewed hemorrhoid surgery results. He was startled to realize how much more surgery was done for minor piles in the U.S. than in Britain, though results were unimpressive – then “I found the payment invoices in each patient’s folder. These were met by the health insurers, who paid out a lot more for an operation than injections. . . . The logic of a for-profit system appeared to lead to expensive solutions and spiraling costs.”

He was also startled by anecdotal reports of how the stock market crash of 1987 led one surgeon to actually shed tears mid-surgery when he heard the news. As well, the serious, money-oriented medical students surprised him, as he was used to quite a number of more arty, intellectual types among medical students in other countries.

Still, he was thrilled about his promising research results on a heated balloon angioplasty device. Later, he was disillusioned to hear that after the device received FDA approval, the main competitor, a laser manufacturer, bought out the idea and shelved it to keep it off the market.

I thought his observations fit well with Dr. Poses’ concern about insidious corruption in medicine and too many physicians who don’t feel the expected fiduciary responsibility to patient welfare. As well, it makes Maggie Mahar’s term of “money-driven medicine” seem – well – on the money.

Drowning in Alphabet Soup: The Wider Battle for Health Regulation

This is an article about Simon Singh, but more than that about the wider issues at stake. In recent months I've written about the BPS, BACP, GCC, BCA, CNHC, and other unimaginative groups of letters that act as regulators or professional bodies for auxilliary health industries in Britain. Simon Singh's battle against the BCA is one chapter in a broader story that links all these cases together. In this post, I want to take a step back, and explore that wider story.

There are four distinct but related stories that have bubbled along for months now (among many others). The CNHC ('OfQuack') are a hapless alternative medicine "regulator" set up by an alt med charity run by Prince Charles at considerable expense to the taxpayer.

The BCA and GCC are chiropractic regulators now 'dealing' with intense scrutiny of an industry in which the truth is systematically distorted after the BCA's misconceived libel action against Simon Singh.

The BPS may be new to many of you, but made themselves a target of my writing after their point-blank refusal to address concerns about psychologists "diagnosing" people in the media. Blogger Gimpy has touched on a similar story with the BACP and Derek Draper.

And finally we have the Homeopathic Action Trust and Society of Homeopaths, the target of brilliant investigative journalism by Gimpy, who have refused to deal with the reckless actions of Jeremy Sherr in Africa.

These stories all share the same elements: threats and legal shenanigans; obfuscation and deception; ineffective self-regulation; the potential endangerment of public health; and bewildering government actions. I'll deal with these in turn.

The first thing to note is that writing about these organisations is hard, and has in fact been rather risky. The Times ended up vetoing an article I wrote for them about the BCA's "plethora" of evidence on legal grounds. My recent piece for the Guardian about the British Psychological Society was published after considerable scrutiny by the paper's legal team. Bloggers writing about these issues have more freedom from editors, but still risk libel, or contempt of court.

This chilling effect is largely due to the actions of the BCA, but other groups have made threats - notably the CNHC's bizarre open letter to a "Mr. Smith". While these threats have if anything encouraged the blogosphere to write more, they may have helped to dampen criticism of these groups in the mainstream media.

The second element is the failure of these groups to be open and honest. The BPS refused point-blank to answer my questions about psychologists flouting their guidelines; the CNHC have been almost comically inept in their backpedaling over the release of minutes from their meetings and subsequent attempts to rewrite history; the BCA took a year to release a dodgy dossier of evidence that on closer examination suggested they were either ignorant or deliberately misleading people. In each of these cases, investigation was hampered by a culture of secrecy, reluctant cooperation, and distortion of the truth.

The third is that in these cases, health workers are quite simply running amok. The chiropractic industry was thrown into chaos as soon as mass complaints were made; homeopaths are galavanting across Africa claiming to cure AIDS, psychologists are busy diagnosing celebrities in the media, and the CNHC's version of regulation does not include any requirement that the treatments used by its members can actually be shown to work. Worse than that, the professional bodies and regulators themselves provide some of the worst examples of bad behaviour.

The one place where a line could be drawn is in government, but here we find chaos and confusion. The CNHC have sucked in hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to support their struggling enterprise, with little explanation from the Department of Health to justify this outlay. The legal system is skewed heavily in favour of these groups, dampening criticism of bodies which have a critical role to play in public health. The policies of individual parties on alternative medicine regulation range from decent (LibDems) to mind-boggling insanity (Greens), but the two main parties appear to have no coherent policy on the subject at all.

I believe that the lack of any coherent, consisent policy for the regulation of alternative and complementary medicine is precisely what is allowing the present situation to continue, exacerbated by the horrendously biased legal system that journalists and writers have to contend with.

It makes no sense at all that alternative "medicine" is not subjected to the same rigorous regulation as normal medical practice. Either the treatments have a clinical effect, or they don't. If they do, they should be dealt with like any other drug. If they don't, they are a fraud and should be removed from sale.

Sense About Science are using current events to campaign for a reform of libel law; but while this is a worthwhile thing to do, there's another fight to be had in Westminster. I suspect that the lack of policy in this area is simply due to the fact that MPs haven't been made to think about this issue before. Maybe it's about time we prompted them. And with new initiatives like the Westminster branch of Skeptics in the Pub coming in the near future, perhaps we will.

Probiotics: Can Yoplait Chase the Flu Away?

During the summer when kids would rather chase the ice cream man down the street than eat the GoGurt (portable squeezable yogurt) that they may be used to in their lunch bags, there may be a new reason to keep yogurt on the menu…even during the summer months. It seems that probiotics—the healthy bacteria found in food and dairy products like yogurt—may be able to prevent the flu.

The journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, just released new information regarding probiotics. Professionally known as T-probiotics, these live cultures are a type of “good” bacteria added to foods that are helpful for keeping the digestive system on track as well as boosting your immune system.

Even though the flu vaccine is still the most recommended form of prevention, natural health remedies are becoming more commonplace due to the easy access to supplements and other organic ingredients as well as a lowered cost than the doctor’s visit and the vaccination. If you think flu prevention is something that should only be talked about during the winter, the seasonal flu is a lot more prevalent than most of us know. Coughing, sore throat, fever, and runny nose are symptoms no one wants to deal with during summer especially during the strong heat and height of vacation season.

Danisco, a Danish supplement company, sponsored the probiotics study in which researchers followed a group of young children—almost 250 patients—between the ages of 3 to 5 years old over a period of six months. When given probiotics to two groups of children two times per day (either Lactobacillus acidophilus or a combination of L acidophilus and Bifidobacterium) during the half a year of research, their symptoms were found to be significantly lower than the third placebo group.

The former head of research and development at Danisco in Wisconsin, Gregory Leyer, the author of the study touts the positive influence of his results, “There was definitely a need to show a prophylactic benefit of probiotic consumption, especially in children…. About 60 to 80 percent of our immune cells are associated with gut [cells]. Hitting the immune system through the gut makes sense,” Leyer continues by saying, “I'm assuming that's how this product works. That kid's immune system is in a better state to fight off infections or reduce the symptoms quicker.”

As a non-drug, natural approach, exchanging antibiotics for probiotics seems like it could be a safer option for parents not wanting to give harsh drugs to their young children. The results speak volumes for the complementary—in addition to Western practices instead of alternative medicine being practiced in place of more popular methods—medicine movement. Both groups of young kids given probiotics (singular and combination) showed reduced fevers by 53 and 72 percent, coughing by over 41 and 62 percent, and the sniffles by 28 and 58 percent and also had to stay home due to flu symptoms fewer days than the placebo group. These children also had a quicker recovery time due to the carefully picked probiotics chosen by researchers aimed at preventing the flu virus.

If you would rather go natural, no matter what supplementation you choose to take (or give to your children) should not be a fleeting, quick-fix maneuver. Supplements help in the long-run and are supposed to be taken daily—or the recommended dosage—whichever works best for you, your doctor, and your body; so please be patient.

When you are looking for a sweet treat to keep the flu away and you want to beat the heat, you can also look into one of the many fro-yo chain stores in your neighborhood with the National Yogurt Association’s stamp of approval for probiotic levels. Another plus to the burgeoning trend of healthier frozen yogurt over the Cold Stone and Baskin Robbins ice cream vendors, is that many of the new ones are self-serve offering a easy way to cut cost and your flu risk while keeping your kids happy and healthy throughout the summer.

The Introduction of Meditation Key Points in Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Meditation has been defined as self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now. It is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness (wikipedia.org). Nowadays meditation have been a mind-body practice in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) since meditation may be practiced to improve psychological balance, cope with illness and enhance overall wellness. This article will provide general introduction with some key points within it.

You will find sections discuss about a group of meditation techniques (mantra meditation, relaxation response, mindfulness meditation, and Zen Buddhist meditation), elements in most type of meditations, the use of meditation for health in the US, common forms of meditation (mindfullness and trancendental), how meditation might work in affecting autonomic nervous system, side effects and risks, and considerations about using meditation practices.

Also, you will be provided with more information regarding publications and searches of Federal scientific and medical literature publications of CAM within the article. Follow complete read of The Introduction of Meditation Key Points in Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the CAM article of pdf filetype here (source: nccam.nih.gov)

Alternative Healthcare versus Traditional Western Medicine

The Western medicine community recently asked the question: Will Alternative Healthcare, a.k.a. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine (WM) merge? This question implies there is reason to wonder and/or we need to consider the benefits a merger might create. The consideration of merging Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine is analogues to comparing apples to oranges. The only comparison between apples and oranges is that they are both fruit—but the comparison ends there. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit Healing and Western Medicine is diametrically polar opposites with nothing in common, except the subject (you). I will explain.

If prescription or OTC drugs are so good for people, where are all the healthy medicated customers? The truth is, there aren’t, any. There’s nobody taking twelve prescriptions or OTC drugs with a clean bill of health. In fact, the more prescriptions a person takes, the worse their overall health. And if you approach the healthiest people you can find and ask what prescription drugs or OTC drugs they’re taking in order to be so healthy, they’ll give you a confused look: Healthy people don’t take prescription or OTC drugs!

Western Medicine’s theory and doctrines fail to recognize that diseases are not separate from the person. In fact every disease can be more accurately called an expression of the patient’s lifestyle, beliefs, and energies. Cancer is not a tumor, for example: it is a systemic disorder that can only truly be cured by helping to support the body, not by attacking it with chemical bombs or knives. The tumor is merely one physical expression of the systemic disorder, and simply removing the tumor does nothing to cure the disease. The body is designed to heal itself—given it has the proper care—nutrition, herbal supplements, spiritual and emotional well-being.

Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing has existed since the beginning of time amid religious beliefs and practices, along with the mystery, superstition, fear, and misunderstanding. Holistic Healing is now becoming recognized regardless of what anyone chooses to believe or think. Ask almost anyone about their spiritual well-being and they will probably tell you, “Yeah, I am a spiritual person, I go to church frequently.” Therein, the confusion arises out of the association of healing with religion. The majority of people, including religious leaders, do not understand the difference.

Definition: “SPIRIT” 1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings, Incorporeal consciousness. There are about twelve more elaborations mostly to do with various religious implications.

Thus, based on Western Medicine’s common interpretations of how things ‘ARE’, many paradoxes are created. The resultant effect is confusion and un-wellness. The Truth, as Carl Jung and others have carefully worded in their writing, is this: Every Thing in the universe is Energy and Consciousness. How anyone thinks or feels about that Fact cannot change it. The purpose of All religions is the recognition that humans have a part of themselves that is not physical and there is a need to explore and experience this aspect of themselves. Part of the intent is to discover one’s purpose and to live in the best way possible. Another part of that goal also includes the attainment of Truth and Spiritual Wellness. However, the result of religious teachings with regard to our Spiritual health has been an abysmal failure. If the most important aspect of our being is our Spiritual self, and it has been neglected, it is a miracle we have existed this long.

In many cultures it has always been thought and/or known that we are spiritual beings, the biggest exception is in western industrialized cultures that we believe we are people who happen to have a soul. Eastern philosophy believes we are a soul first, housed in this thing called a ‘body.’ The most beautiful and simple interpretation of how everything ‘IS’ can be found in the Native American tradition. “Everything in the universe is Spirit, each thing in it is of the same Spirit and it is all Connected.” This is exactly what we are beginning to understand in science and quantum physics, that everything in the universe is made of the same thing and has a consciousness about it. The two things that frustrate scientists the most is the fact that all these
things operate across time, space and dimensions they do not yet understand, and the ability of things to operate on inter-dimensional and multi-dimensional levels. A high degree of new understanding about the science and physics of what spiritual really means is now mostly coming from independent researchers. High-tech and aerospace research physicists and scientists, all seem to have a more concise and accurate understanding of Spirit and the Spiritual than those from a theological background.

Spiritual Experiences teach us: Everything we think or feel affects oneself and others. We need to realize every feeling—anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment—are mind generated emotions and need to be modified or eliminated. Left to fester—anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment, creates physical reactions. For every physical reaction, a.k.a. symptoms—i.e. colds, cancer, MS, and everything from A to Z, there is a direct link to mind generated emotions. When these mind generated emotions are eliminated and the wounds created from long term and dysfunctional expressions are healed, the physical manifestation labeled as illness by Western Medicine is eliminated.

There is little difference in the effects produced by an intentional damaging curse or a prayer prayed improperly, bad advice or simply some random negative thought. Ministers are trained in traditional theosophical dogmatic perceptions specific to the cultural religious views they ascribe to. Most people have little concept about True Spirituality or how the universe really operates. As a consequence they convey misinformation, half-truths, superstitions and fears along with a multitude of associated damaging information into a person’s consciousness. The result of which is Confusion and Paradox—which leads to distress, disease and un-wellness.

Since Holistic/Metaphysical Healthcare focuses on supporting the Mind, Body, Spirit to heal itself as it is designed to do and Western Medicine perceives the human body as a battleground on which wars are waged with chemical bombs and scalpels against invaders, how can these divergent ideologies be merged?

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life’s challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net