This is my response to a mass email circulating the nation.
The email claims doom and gloom with ruin to come. While those who have read my work would claim that I do the same, my attempt is to raise awareness of solutions that do not work and will not work while focusing on solutions that have worked and will work.
The mass email blames more recent events and leaders rather than design changes and designers over the past 100 years and especially the past 30 years.
The email mentions democracies failing after 200 years or about the time since we have existed as a nation. It mentions the problem of democracies failing as they began to vote treasuries to few people - a real concern of all who desire equitable government.
What the emails assert provocatively and simplistically:
Let’s take a stand!!!
Borders: Closed!
Language: English only
Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!
Lobbyist: Gone!
And this is my response. It is a longer response because it takes longer to explain. Just a few words cannot explain our designs and their consequences or what it will take to fix the design problems plaguing most Americans. Sputnik was not a real threat, but it did indicate to Americans that they were falling behind in areas of great importance - such as the education of their children. The solutions were all complex but decades later the successes are clear. We had to sacrifice for future generations and we did. The outline of President Kennedy made sacrifices clear as well as the priority of our economy. Avoiding profiteering was also noted, something that our health care designs promote.
I agree that we should stop people from voting the treasury to themselves – and health care is a good place to start.
All great nations have treasured their children – a method guaranteed to guarantee the treasuring and best outcomes for all in a nation. Our nation has moved to favor the few with the most. Innovative designers have found new ways to vote even more money into their pockets. Current treasuries were not enough. We have found new ways to spend money now and tax generations of children not yet born – especially in health care.
Health care is a primary example of a design that moves federal and state treasuries to those who are the best at receiving health care spending. We spend ever more on the elderly and those who are poor but we fail to get much more out of life and health
Health care is a primary example of a design that moves federal and state treasuries to those who are the best at receiving health care spending. We spend ever more on the elderly and those who are poor but we fail to get much more out of life and health
BECAUSE THE REAL DESIGNERS OF HEALTH CARE ARE THE FEW WHO GET THE MOST
It is never as simple as blaming government, or industry, or associations, or corporations, or scapegoats such as populations that are in the minority. Small changes guided steadily in one direction can mean major changes over a century of time.
Health care is a best example of those slowly and steadily voting themselves past, current, and future treasuries. With more limitations in true outcomes, innovative thinking can focus in other directions. This innovative thinking is focused upon how to get more spending dedicated to health care and more health spending for specific types of health care. This is of course spending that does little for our health care while doing a lot for the real designers of health care.
As I noted previously To follow the money, follow the workforce and who benefits from the workforce and the design. I learned from learning about the workforce and you can also become aware of the results of our designs.
Where the US has concentrations of health care workforce, the US has concentrated health spending, and the designers can also be found shaping top concentrations in health and other areas. If you can understand the concerns that give energy to the current protests, you can understand problems related to the designs.
As I noted previously To follow the money, follow the workforce and who benefits from the workforce and the design. I learned from learning about the workforce and you can also become aware of the results of our designs.
Where the US has concentrations of health care workforce, the US has concentrated health spending, and the designers can also be found shaping top concentrations in health and other areas. If you can understand the concerns that give energy to the current protests, you can understand problems related to the designs.
In health care we have gone way beyond just voting our limited government treasuries. Big Thinking has moved beyond existing and limited treasuries shaped by Wall Street. (Finance-me-cratic Constants)
We have Big Business insurance companies that have figured out how to tax all government and businesses for ever higher health care insurance premiums from us and our businesses and government. We have academic institutions and hospitals that focus on the highest technologies.
We have Big Business insurance companies that have figured out how to tax all government and businesses for ever higher health care insurance premiums from us and our businesses and government. We have academic institutions and hospitals that focus on the highest technologies.
We go along because we think it helps us, as noted in Myth of the Cure. We go along partially because we want "the best" and because none of us want to die. Of course few of us realize that none of us will avoid dying. We fall prey to the myth - by design. Most of all we fail to realize that one of the best gifts that we have to give - is a better future for our children, their children, and their nation - long after we are gone.
What makes matters worse in recent decades is that health care designs are protected by laws designed by state governments and insurance companies such that even abuses cannot be redressed by the courts. Any of us who differed with health insurance actions have had little recourse for correction, by designs set up by insurance companies. We rarely deal with insurance claims so we have little awareness or priority in this area. Insurance companies always deal with this, hire lobbyists to focus on areas of their interest, and place legislators to insure their interests are met.
What makes matters worse in recent decades is that health care designs are protected by laws designed by state governments and insurance companies such that even abuses cannot be redressed by the courts. Any of us who differed with health insurance actions have had little recourse for correction, by designs set up by insurance companies. We rarely deal with insurance claims so we have little awareness or priority in this area. Insurance companies always deal with this, hire lobbyists to focus on areas of their interest, and place legislators to insure their interests are met.
The Supreme Court is an example of a current case filed against the State of California for abuses. California designs are so bad that not even health care providers participate much - the lowest level of participation in the nation. The Chief Justice would prefer to avoid hearing a case because of past laws and also because such a case would open up a flood of additional cases. No court that values justice should fear more cases that involve basic access to health care. A nation that values rights for all should not deny most Americans the right for basic health care - by designs that are flawed.
With the help of Congress and the Drug Company/Medicare/AARP and other lobbies, we have also tolerated this and the massive debt accumulation. The past and current treasuries were not enough. Part A and Part B were not enough. We found ways to tax future generations for current health designs and current health spending. We found new ways to pay even more from treasuries to Part D Medicare, care in the last year of life (and not good care either), long term care (and not good care either), drug costs, hospital costs, and subspecialty costs.
Despite being the number 1 nation by far in health care costs, we rate a failing grade of 62 compared to various US states doing well and health care in other nations. We should be at least in the top 20 but we fall way down the list and are falling further. (Commonwealth Report Why Not the Best?)
Obamacare as the problem? - hardly. Why blame the most recent without even the beginning of impact that has had the least influence on the design and was greatly limited by the efforts of the true designers within the first weeks of the reform proposals?
Despite being the number 1 nation by far in health care costs, we rate a failing grade of 62 compared to various US states doing well and health care in other nations. We should be at least in the top 20 but we fall way down the list and are falling further. (Commonwealth Report Why Not the Best?)
Obamacare as the problem? - hardly. Why blame the most recent without even the beginning of impact that has had the least influence on the design and was greatly limited by the efforts of the true designers within the first weeks of the reform proposals?
Why do you think that the designers so vehemently oppose any mention of any design in any other nation? Why do so many myths suddenly appear about health care in such nations within hours of the beginning of such discussions? American health care developed uniquely because it has been allowed to focus on what was best for the designers without regard to the needs of most Americans.
What you see now is the result of American Designs BY Americans but Not FOR Americans. Our designs are the result of the past 30 years of American leaders designing American health professionals and American health care.
Resistance is Futile When Resistors Are Few - By Design
Anger with government control or Obamacare cannot change the last 30 years of failed health professional training failing to care for the most or the last 30 years of reimbursement changes that favor the least over the most. Even Medicare and Medicaid are vastly changed from the initial design and away - changes engineered by the designers steadily working day after day and year after year for their best interest - by design.
The design leaves 65% of the nation's Americans, especially those many generations in America, behind in health and behind in the economic impact of health care, and behind in the health of the public. Public health and primary care are only a few examples of being left behind.
The design leaves 65% of the nation's Americans, especially those many generations in America, behind in health and behind in the economic impact of health care, and behind in the health of the public. Public health and primary care are only a few examples of being left behind.
Less money goes to locations where Americans have been in America the longest. The census reports document those born in America not doing as well as those born outside - for decades.
So let us review the rest of the demands made. What about health care designs?
So let us review the rest of the demands made. What about health care designs?
EMAIL Focus on Borders: Closed!
Health care is a primary example of erroneous borderline thinking. US Borders are not closed to the pathway to one of the highest income jobs in the world - the US physician. US designs so reward the subspecialty physicians that parents prepare their children for years so that their children can come to the United States before, during, or after medical school. They pull out all the stops to get their children to compete for graduate medical education training in the United States.
The 110,000 a year trained in the US by billions of federal dollars during residency training are 40 - 45% born in other nations. The 90% of US born citizens can only claim 66% of graduate medical education positions (NRMP data). Even getting into a US medical school is harder for those born in the United States. Foreign born US citizens have 1.4 times greater levels of admission to US medical schools. For those born in the US, if you are not born to a higher income American you have a low chance of admission a 14% to 30% probability compared to the national average. Those of most urban and higest income and professional families are 2 to 10 times more likely to become physicians. The range of 6 times less to 6 times more represents the great divide between Americans left behind and Americans that will be ahead - by design.
The 110,000 a year trained in the US by billions of federal dollars during residency training are 40 - 45% born in other nations. The 90% of US born citizens can only claim 66% of graduate medical education positions (NRMP data). Even getting into a US medical school is harder for those born in the United States. Foreign born US citizens have 1.4 times greater levels of admission to US medical schools. For those born in the US, if you are not born to a higher income American you have a low chance of admission a 14% to 30% probability compared to the national average. Those of most urban and higest income and professional families are 2 to 10 times more likely to become physicians. The range of 6 times less to 6 times more represents the great divide between Americans left behind and Americans that will be ahead - by design.
Also instead of investing in United States medical schools and schools in states in need of health care, more have been trained in other nations for medical school - a substantial loss of economic impact inside of the United States. This is also a design that means more physicians for locations with top concentrations and fewer for locations with most Americans.
Only highest income, most urban, children of professionals have a real chance to become US physicians whether they were born in the US or in other nations. They are also free to go to the careers and specialties that they want - but the US health care design shapes them away from the careers and locations that we need for care for most Americans.
And census after census reveals that foreign born populations actually do better than US born populations in a wide range of US societal measures, but these facts escape Americans who are so focused on illegals rather than overall immigration. Foreign born populations have much better housing, do better in income and jobs, and have better health care outcomes. Scapegoating has always been a way for blame rather than solutions. Blaming those from other nations, rich or not, for our problems is no excuse for American failures involving American children.
And census after census reveals that foreign born populations actually do better than US born populations in a wide range of US societal measures, but these facts escape Americans who are so focused on illegals rather than overall immigration. Foreign born populations have much better housing, do better in income and jobs, and have better health care outcomes. Scapegoating has always been a way for blame rather than solutions. Blaming those from other nations, rich or not, for our problems is no excuse for American failures involving American children.
By the way, the hospitals that get the federal funds for training are supposed to prepare workforce for the needs of all Americans focus the funding and the training on hospital needs. Even when the funding goes for “primary care” the training programs result in dysfunctional primary care that drives medical students and residents away from primary care (Keirns, Academic Medicine). Not surprisingly they fail to result in the primary care general internists and family physicians that most Americans need, especially the elderly.
Yes this does mean that the promises of Romneycare and Obamacare were empty promises when it came to saving health care costs - primarily because the promises came without the health access workforce that was ready and able to take in the additional patients to provide basic care instead of care in ERs, urgent cares, subspecialist offices, and hospitals.
The promises of the Continuity Home, Pay for Performance, and other innovations and redesigns and technology are in error. WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT PRIMARY CARE IS ABOUT PEOPLE FACE TO FACE WITH PEOPLE. We must have the people dedicated and experienced in primary care to deliver primary care.
In fact nearly all of the promises made about primary care are empty promises - until we have become SMART and focus specifically upon primary care training and primary care trained graduates that remain in primary care with primary care spending sufficient to support the needed primary care workforce. Meeting the Needs for Primary Care is possible by 2050, but likely not sooner because of our designs and their consequences.
The elderly are a primary example of failures of the past 30 years of administrations. For decades that we have known about "Baby Boomers." We have known that America's elderly were set to double from 2010 to 2030. Health care for the elderly is noted for 2 to 3 times more primary care demand. Despite this there has been no planning for the elderly in their basic needs.
All Behind for One and One Behind Represents All
What few realize is that the locations with over 65% of the elderly are 30,000 zip codes with over 65% of the poor, near poor, rural, underserved, disadvantaged, and minority populations. When we chose to leave any of these behind in basic health access, we chose to leave all behind. Medicare and Medicaid focused in these areas did well for most Americans. Medicare and Medicaid designs bent to serve those in top concentrations fail to serve most Americans.
The elderly in many cases will always represent those behind. Lower cost of living areas are requirements for all left behind. The elderly move to lower cost locations because of fixed income requirements. They will always remain in these locations or move to these locations with less workforce - because they are older and on fixed incomes. Also Medicare and Medicaid will always be more important in these populations and locations, because of higher levels of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Of course these are locations and populations that are not well understood by designers focused on a design that does not work for most Americans. The elderly move away from locations with the top concentrations of primary care, stroke centers, and heart attack centers because these places are too costly for elderly Americans.
Family practice is a good example of what designers leave behind.
No other physician or non-physician group distributes to those left behind at multiple times. The designs that leave 65% of Americans behind also leave behind family practice - those most likely to serve them. Family practice MD, DO, NP, and PA all serve all of the populations left behind and are less likely to be found where the nation has top subspecialization, health spending, and hospital care.
Family practice nurse practitioners and physician assistants are found with 50% or more where needed, but have decreased from 50% family practice to 25%. The reason is a design that rewards NP and PA departure from family practice to other careers and locations for higher pay, better support, and more benefits (and less complexity of care). The flexible design of NP and PA training fits the needs of the designers, but not the needs of most Americans.
Family physicians are an example of a permanent design that is least flexible. Family physicians also remain at 50% or more where needed. They do far more primary care and primary care where needed than NP and PA graduates because 80 - 90% stay in family practice for their careers. Family physicians remain fewer because the design for health care makes it difficult to commit an entire career to primary care - plain and simple.
US Primary Care Result - Consequences of Designs
There will be no increase in family physicians (remaining at 100,000 nationwide). Even worse we will have internal medicine physicians declining from 80,000 to 40,000. We have such a great design for those in need of basic health services (tongue in cheek). If you are alive in 2030 and we use 2011 to 2030 to focus on a design that works for most Americans and most over age 65, then by 2030 we could have a design that works better and by 2050 we could have a real health access design.
In other words, the older and oldest would have to invest in a real future for American health care without having much benefit from the design during their time. This is called sacrifice – the kind that builds a nation. Lack of sacrifice fails a nation - by design. As we grow more aware of the magnitude of the failure, we will blame each of any number of administrations and leaders - but blame will not result in solutions.
Less sacrifice and more focus on me and my kind and those oldest and nearest the end of their time - this is a guarantee of failure for those left behind.
You can choose to build or choose to crumble nations – Health care is just one design to change for the most and away from the least.
Substantial US physicians fail this test as they are not English native. US physicians also are less likely to speak the language of their patients - English or not English. Studies demonstrate more problems due to lack of awareness, deficits in interactions, and poor communication skills. Awareness of your patient and community and language and culture is important. Each of these areas is compromised by our designs, resulting in compromise for many. The elderly are also another group that require additional time, additional explanations, and additional understanding. Our health care design focuses health care away from time, explanation, and understanding.
In English native physicians and in those not native to English (Annals of Internal Medicine discipline rates) we tolerate higher levels of adverse medical events. In medical schools we do not screen for poor communication skills well and 25% are likely to have adverse events resulting from lowest communication skills (Tamblyn, JAMA). In physicians entering from other nations, the English skills are tested - but communication skills are still not tested well.
Beyond English and communication skills is the need for a physician to have some level of awareness of the health needs of most Americans. American political leaders, leaders in health care, and leaders in health professional education all flunk in this awareness - otherwise we would have health professionals and health designs that worked for most Americans.
Beyond English and communication skills is the need for a physician to have some level of awareness of the health needs of most Americans. American political leaders, leaders in health care, and leaders in health professional education all flunk in this awareness - otherwise we would have health professionals and health designs that worked for most Americans.
Those accepted at higher and higher levels to US schools are lower in awareness and higher in parent income level and higher in test scores but lower in empathy levels and are less likely to choose the careers and locations needed for basic care. Those who are more likely to choose the careers and locations needed come from the same 65% left behind. They are also more likely to be aware of the needs of most Americans as they are from most Americans. They are typically disadvantaged, poor, near poor, lower income, and middle income – all of those least likely to become health professionals and health leaders.
America has such a great design as those with the least awareness lead the health care of a nation!
This is of course a major American problem for all American designs – not just health care.
Also those not born in the US are least likely to be found in family medicine (7%) and even when choosing internal medicine (over 45% of non-citizen) they only end up 1 out of 6 found in primary care workforce over an entire career. But of course we still allow government primary care funding to go to training that fails most at primary care workforce. We fail to focus limited funds upon primary care that actually results in primary care and primary care 2 - 4 times more likely to be found where most needed or to care for the elderly.
Also those not born in the US are least likely to be found in family medicine (7%) and even when choosing internal medicine (over 45% of non-citizen) they only end up 1 out of 6 found in primary care workforce over an entire career. But of course we still allow government primary care funding to go to training that fails most at primary care workforce. We fail to focus limited funds upon primary care that actually results in primary care and primary care 2 - 4 times more likely to be found where most needed or to care for the elderly.
And non-citizen physicians are most likely to be found in 1% of the land area in top concentrations and are least likely to be found in 30,000 zip codes left behind with 65% of the US population.
But non-citizens accepted into US graduate medical education positions allow Manhattan, Boston, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and similar largest city teaching hospitals to get billions of federal dollars to concentrate more physicians in higher concentrations for highest concentration people of all origins. Also only a few zip codes in these cities gain the funding and the workforce, leaving doughnuts of underserved populations around those that benefit most by the design. Purple means top concentrations (and Wall Street) and yellow is left behind and red is left behind the most - in health care, in economics from health care, etc.
But non-citizens accepted into US graduate medical education positions allow Manhattan, Boston, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and similar largest city teaching hospitals to get billions of federal dollars to concentrate more physicians in higher concentrations for highest concentration people of all origins. Also only a few zip codes in these cities gain the funding and the workforce, leaving doughnuts of underserved populations around those that benefit most by the design. Purple means top concentrations (and Wall Street) and yellow is left behind and red is left behind the most - in health care, in economics from health care, etc.
If we limited non-citizens to fewer US graduate medical education positions in locations with top concentrations already, we would shift more funding from states that get the most GME funding to states with the lowest levels of workforce and the least GME spending. Since residency training location is the most important marker of practice location, we would actually send workforce where needed. But even when we have designs that work, we have designers that find ways around the design - designs that maintain concentrations within top existing concentrations. Physician Distribution By Concentration can reveal much about concentrations and health spending.
EMAIL Focus on Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
The government has finally figured out some of the abuses and fraud by insurance companies, drug companies, and various get rich provider groups. But numerous ways of getting paid much to do little still exist and are passed by the Congress and have been approved by presidents 1980 to the present.
As a new physician entering the workforce in the most desirable choice of primary care, in rural practice, in an underserved area, in an underserved state– the Reagan administration gave me a present of a 20% cut in reimbursement because I was a new physician, sent me the lowest reimbursement in the nation as Area 99, killed off my rural hospital with Prospective Payment (hundreds), killed off my training program part time job, and ignored the resolution that I initiated through the Oklahoma legislature for One Zone Medicare. About 30 states and their needs have been ignored for 30 years or more.
The AMA was no better as viewed when I was the first elected representative from the Young Physicians Section. The Texas Medical Association took positions that risked important rural health legislation. The designers have great power and influence that do not focus attention where health care is needed. Their needs trump the needs of the nation over and over.
Even today, many want to throw out new health care laws, but this also means allowing health insurance companies to abuse even more Americans, delay more payments, deny care due to previous conditions, abuse the mentally ill, extract more dollars out of pocket, and deliver even less care for even higher profits for few. I have been abused personal for care for my family costs of up to $50,000. My family has been denied important care at critical moments in their life.
I advocate for health access and primary care and basic services but my opposition includes health insurance lobbies promote primary care sources that are least likely to deliver primary care. Hospitals and practitioners that I work with face major cuts because they care for those who need care the most involving basic health services.
Pay for Performance and other designs reward those who care for the easiest to care for and penalize those who make the career choices that we need doctors most to make. Major Journals fail in even the basics involving workforce for primary care or for populations left behind even when dedicating entire issues to these topics. Foundations also are limited in their reports and are often distracted by innovation focus rather than basic health workforce to deliver basic health services.
Abuses designed in California and other parts of the nation such as New Jersey were taken to Washington DC. The result has been economic devastation for thousands of rural communities and others dependent upon government for a design for reimbursement that was fair for rural hospitals, small hospitals, and primary care services. Now we have the consequences as we have 55% of our health care resources and spending in only 1% of the land area with 11% of the population. Large insurance companies getting larger, large systems getting bigger, urban hospitals, subspecialists, and non-primary care interests get the most health spending with those outside of specialization and other large concentrations losing. High tech companies, software companies, lawyers of all types, accountants, and lobbyists win and we all lose – by design. They all design special legislation and special legislators to pass legislation – by design. They spend the most and even cross borders to control elections in other states – by designs including designs approved by the Supreme Court.
EMAIL Focus on Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
EMAIL Focus on Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
Talk to employers. Drugs are abused by large segments of the American population with most sources of these drugs inside of America. Ask small business employers how hard it is to find drug free workers now - the ones that come into your house and do repairs or maintenance or put together whatever little remains of American manufacture after Americans and their businesses have left little manufactured in the US. Drugs of all types have invaded the lives of all of us and our children and grandparents. They have changed the designs for our families and for our children - drug companies push drugs very well. Even when pushing for better health and prevention, you find drugs, drugs, and more drugs as the way. Just as drug stores make a killing on tobacco, drug companies make a killing selling more drugs to deal with drug problems.
Our drug companies have marketed narcotics legally and illegally to our detriment. Even the government could not avoid prosecuting such abuses. Companies like Purdue-Frederick got off easy with $600 million (Oxycontin) when billions should have been paid out across all states. The precedent was Big Tobacco that did the same - creating and marketing addicting products and lying about the effects. Designs for addiction kill bodies and minds and dreams for the addict and those around them.
Our ERs are increasing 10% in volume each year. The result is even higher increases in very expensive health care costs each year. Prescription drug abuses are a major increasing problem - prescribed pain meds, prescribed stimulant medications for age 4 to 54, prescribed anti-depressants (Drug Abuse Warning Network). Pain killers have been fraudulently marketed by drug companies. Paid consultants that even worked in academic institutions pushed such drugs to the public. Pain pill pushing drug clinics added to addiction. Each new week brings out more practitioners prosecuted, but no progress means even more abuses remain.
Go sit outside a methadone clinic some time. Those going in are clearly not on welfare. They have jobs, drive nice cars, have jobs, and resemble all of us. When they go to some clinics that are supposed to help you get your dependency under control, some will increase your narcotic doses - a tactic that assures that you will be there a year or more longer because it will take longer to get off the drugs - if you can get off at all.
Justice would mean drug testing for any employed person so that they can get paid a paycheck at all. Try to explain to employers about a positive drug test for being on an approved program.
Also the drug testing results are easy to distort. This has become a fast growing multi-million dollar business. One can make the case that those that can pay will pass tests. Only the truly poor and destitute and busiest will test positive. This is of course the same as those that can pay for the best lawyers will avoid entanglements while those left behind suffer the most.
Justice would mean drug testing for any employed person so that they can get paid a paycheck at all. Try to explain to employers about a positive drug test for being on an approved program.
Also the drug testing results are easy to distort. This has become a fast growing multi-million dollar business. One can make the case that those that can pay will pass tests. Only the truly poor and destitute and busiest will test positive. This is of course the same as those that can pay for the best lawyers will avoid entanglements while those left behind suffer the most.
Laws only work well in a nation that practices the Golden Rule more and more and Gold as a Rule less and less.
EMAIL Focus on NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!
As noted above, we reward non-citizens with our highest income and highest education access. And because we make it hard on kids of all origins, we make it harder for our kids and grandkids. Who in their right mind (no pun intended) would make it harder for anyone to get education, particularly the youngest children who need the best start to even participate well in capitalism and democracy? Best start for all does allow the most to compete and drives the best outcomes for the most. Worse start for the most drives the worst for the most and allows only the fewest to make the most.
EMAIL Focus on Lobbyist: Gone!
Lobbyists are indeed the major problem for inequitable American health care. Health care also gives examples of two of the worst moments in Congress and both events were shaped by lobbyists - Part D Medicare and the assault on a Congressman. Both have cost us trillions diverted to the designers and away from care of most Americans.
One violent event in US history has helped shape higher costs for health care. Activists seniors were led by lobbyists who used this as a pathway to become became legislators. These seniors were led to accost a Congressman (Rostenkowski) and ended any reasonable ways to fund Medicare deficits with means testing (higher monthly fees for those who can afford to pay so that all can have better care that does not bankrupt the nation. It was one of few that would have taxed seniors to pay for seniors instead of seniors taxing the nation for their ever increasing cost of care.
A cowardly Congress decided not to take a stand and turned tail and ran, not standing up for one of their members or standing up to self-serving seniors.
Politicians claiming death squads are fed information by lobbyists to prevent important changes in the health care design. This focus on the few and dramatic results in less health care for most Americans. The AARP works to assure that we fail to have any reasonable cost cutting measures. Insurance company executives in back room sessions using a small portion of their revenue hired consultants to find the best way to spin health care design changes. Consultants won the award for the Politifact lie of the year - government control. Fox news leaders instructed employees to use the words government control.
Lobbyists are indeed the major problem for inequitable American health care. Health care also gives examples of two of the worst moments in Congress and both events were shaped by lobbyists - Part D Medicare and the assault on a Congressman. Both have cost us trillions diverted to the designers and away from care of most Americans.
One violent event in US history has helped shape higher costs for health care. Activists seniors were led by lobbyists who used this as a pathway to become became legislators. These seniors were led to accost a Congressman (Rostenkowski) and ended any reasonable ways to fund Medicare deficits with means testing (higher monthly fees for those who can afford to pay so that all can have better care that does not bankrupt the nation. It was one of few that would have taxed seniors to pay for seniors instead of seniors taxing the nation for their ever increasing cost of care.
A cowardly Congress decided not to take a stand and turned tail and ran, not standing up for one of their members or standing up to self-serving seniors.
Politicians claiming death squads are fed information by lobbyists to prevent important changes in the health care design. This focus on the few and dramatic results in less health care for most Americans. The AARP works to assure that we fail to have any reasonable cost cutting measures. Insurance company executives in back room sessions using a small portion of their revenue hired consultants to find the best way to spin health care design changes. Consultants won the award for the Politifact lie of the year - government control. Fox news leaders instructed employees to use the words government control.
Americans believe much that is not true about health care, making it hard to design health care at all - leaving those in charge of the design even more in control.
Government control? What a myth. Reading this you see who controls the designs and it is certainly not over 65% of Americans or what they would desire of government or of health care.
The drug company lobby faced deliberations of cost cutting in Congress in 2003. They merely wanted to prevent government from being able to negotiate costs of drugs. They got much more than preventing this cost cutting measure. Drug companies managed to get trillions of future dollars promised to them from Part D Medicare. They got laws preventing the government from negotiation of drug price. Powerful interests controlled Congress and use hundreds of billions to continue this control.Lobbyists now are defending their stand to keep 12 years of protection for some drugs before they can become generic. They oppose a reduction to 6 years as proposed. Already 50 Congressman have already signed on to send more profits for longer to drug companies. This also insures that we all pay more and more for drugs to drug companies, who add little more to our health care other than costs.
Lies have become common for health professionals and their associations. Health professional associations of nurses and physicians promise primary care but do not deliver primary care workforce despite billions in annual spending. More primary care from nurse practitioners is claimed, yet only 1 in 4 nurse practitioners remains employed in family practice. This small portion is the only valid claim to direct patient care primary care for nurse practitioners and is the only source that distributes 50% or greater to meet the needs of 65% of Americans in 30,000 zip codes.
Government control? What a myth. Reading this you see who controls the designs and it is certainly not over 65% of Americans or what they would desire of government or of health care.
The drug company lobby faced deliberations of cost cutting in Congress in 2003. They merely wanted to prevent government from being able to negotiate costs of drugs. They got much more than preventing this cost cutting measure. Drug companies managed to get trillions of future dollars promised to them from Part D Medicare. They got laws preventing the government from negotiation of drug price. Powerful interests controlled Congress and use hundreds of billions to continue this control.Lobbyists now are defending their stand to keep 12 years of protection for some drugs before they can become generic. They oppose a reduction to 6 years as proposed. Already 50 Congressman have already signed on to send more profits for longer to drug companies. This also insures that we all pay more and more for drugs to drug companies, who add little more to our health care other than costs.
Lies have become common for health professionals and their associations. Health professional associations of nurses and physicians promise primary care but do not deliver primary care workforce despite billions in annual spending. More primary care from nurse practitioners is claimed, yet only 1 in 4 nurse practitioners remains employed in family practice. This small portion is the only valid claim to direct patient care primary care for nurse practitioners and is the only source that distributes 50% or greater to meet the needs of 65% of Americans in 30,000 zip codes.
Questions should be asked of the advance nursing movement that results in little for care most needed by most Americans. Why does nursing leadership ignore the largest primary care force of all – the 270,000 primary care registered nurses? Why does our design hamstring our primary care nurses. Primary care nurses due to insurance company designs must spend much of their time trying to convince insurance companies to approve needed medications, consultants, hospitalizations, and procedures. The secret is that the health care design is not about care, it is about cutting costs and making more for insurance companies - leaving less for most Americans by design. Insurance companies have taken over the designs from government and from most Americans.
Government control of health professional training is a myth. Only 1 in 3 graduates of primary care training programs will actually serve careers of primary care. The only permanent primary care source is family medicine and family medicine remains at 3000 annual graduates - a level first reached in 1980. The one source that is most closely associated with care of elderly, middle income, lower income, poor, near poor, disadvanged, and rural populations is the one source that has not been expanded. The one source that is 85% likely to remain in primary care compared to 40% or less for all other sources is the one source not expanded. Only when Americans demanded a source of basic care in the 1970s did family medicine get a real start and rose from a few hundred to 3000. This was perhaps the last time Americans had any say about the workforce.
Government control of health professional training is a myth. Only 1 in 3 graduates of primary care training programs will actually serve careers of primary care. The only permanent primary care source is family medicine and family medicine remains at 3000 annual graduates - a level first reached in 1980. The one source that is most closely associated with care of elderly, middle income, lower income, poor, near poor, disadvanged, and rural populations is the one source that has not been expanded. The one source that is 85% likely to remain in primary care compared to 40% or less for all other sources is the one source not expanded. Only when Americans demanded a source of basic care in the 1970s did family medicine get a real start and rose from a few hundred to 3000. This was perhaps the last time Americans had any say about the workforce.
But now the designs allow family medicine training positions to be converted to subspecialty positions as in the Mayo Clinic and dozens of other institutions. These institutions benefit more by producing less primary care and more subspecialized workforce - by our design. More for fewer means less for most Americans.
Health care associations actually promote themselves as being good for the economy of the United States. Reading their reports indicates that half of the economic impact of medical schools (AAMC - over 500 billion) goes to just a few dozen zip codes in six states. The Wall Street Manhattan zip codes with top concentrations from economic and financial designs also have top health spending by design.
Health care associations determine the people (most often association, academic, and subspecialty physicians) that make up the panels that advise the nation on health care spending. The AMA shapes the panels and also shapes reports that indicate the economic benefit. The problem is that those that understand office based physician distribution understand that these designs send 5 times as much health spending for office based physician care to 1000 zip codes in 1% of the land area. The designs result in substantially more spending due to even higher concentrations of hospital, teaching, and research in these 1000 zip codes - by the American design.
Health care associations want billions more taken from Medicare (your health care dollars) to train even more subspecialists that you will rarely if ever see. Each subspecialty physician, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner will result in increased health spending for the United States – by design.
Health care associations actually promote themselves as being good for the economy of the United States. Reading their reports indicates that half of the economic impact of medical schools (AAMC - over 500 billion) goes to just a few dozen zip codes in six states. The Wall Street Manhattan zip codes with top concentrations from economic and financial designs also have top health spending by design.
Health care associations determine the people (most often association, academic, and subspecialty physicians) that make up the panels that advise the nation on health care spending. The AMA shapes the panels and also shapes reports that indicate the economic benefit. The problem is that those that understand office based physician distribution understand that these designs send 5 times as much health spending for office based physician care to 1000 zip codes in 1% of the land area. The designs result in substantially more spending due to even higher concentrations of hospital, teaching, and research in these 1000 zip codes - by the American design.
Health care associations want billions more taken from Medicare (your health care dollars) to train even more subspecialists that you will rarely if ever see. Each subspecialty physician, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner will result in increased health spending for the United States – by design.
Meanwhile the family practice doctors and nurse practitioners and physician assistants that do see seniors and most in need of the most health care the most, are declining to a lower and lower percentage of those produced. Primary care training designs have only doubled primary care numbers from 1965 – 1980. Since 1965 each 15 years the United States design has doubled non-primary care numbers – guaranteed already through 2025.
Only one small medical school in Minnesota (Duluth) manages to produce 50% family physicians year after year. This one school represents an investment by the state of MN in a medical school to serve the needs of most in MN rather than the least. This one school represents one of the major economic contributors to small urban and rural locations in MN and other states. But this one model has remained a model for 40 years. Medical education expands the areas that do the least and fails to expand those that do the most with the least. Billions of economic impact has resulted from a small annual investment not counting the health services, community leadership, and other aspects.
Only one small medical school in Minnesota (Duluth) manages to produce 50% family physicians year after year. This one school represents an investment by the state of MN in a medical school to serve the needs of most in MN rather than the least. This one school represents one of the major economic contributors to small urban and rural locations in MN and other states. But this one model has remained a model for 40 years. Medical education expands the areas that do the least and fails to expand those that do the most with the least. Billions of economic impact has resulted from a small annual investment not counting the health services, community leadership, and other aspects.
The US design shapes concentrations not distribution. Duluth is one of only a few medical schools that sends 70% of graduates to zip codes that represent 65% of the population. The top medical schools rated by national rankings send only about 20% to zip codes in need.
What works for most Americans left behind is left small and low priority. What works for few Americans is rated most highly, gets the most lines of revenue by design, and gets the highest reimbursement in each line.
Special programs are a bad idea for one reason - they hide the truth of an American health design that fails most Americans. Special programs are the political darlings of a Congress that can extract millions in contributions to do more of the same - little for most Americans. Each year Congress gets more and more, especially when some member threatens to cut a special program (Medicare, rural hospitals, primary care training, police department funds, education department)
By the way, blaming physicians is a bad idea. They may benefit, but they are less and less the designers as fewer remain as employers and as more and more are employees. Health care designs are shaped more and more by investors who desire a national design that guarantees profits. This is the Wall Street design, if you did not notice it yet.
Special programs are a bad idea for one reason - they hide the truth of an American health design that fails most Americans. Special programs are the political darlings of a Congress that can extract millions in contributions to do more of the same - little for most Americans. Each year Congress gets more and more, especially when some member threatens to cut a special program (Medicare, rural hospitals, primary care training, police department funds, education department)
By the way, blaming physicians is a bad idea. They may benefit, but they are less and less the designers as fewer remain as employers and as more and more are employees. Health care designs are shaped more and more by investors who desire a national design that guarantees profits. This is the Wall Street design, if you did not notice it yet.
Blaming physicians is another good tactic played out by designers that do not want their designs to be discovered. And a design that results in lower cost workforce competition and a lesser future for physicians is really not a design that physicians would have shaped. In the US for 100 years and in other nations such as Japan, physician associations have learned to prevent competition and keep the physician levels smaller to keep demand high. A massive US expansion of non-physicians and an expansion of physicians who do the least for the most is not a good design.
This American design certainly works well for those who benefit from more training, longer training, lower cost of personnel, higher profits for those associated with top concentrations, more profits for investors, and ever more spent on the highest cost areas.
Few Americans benefit for a few years of their lives, often near the end of their life with benefits for just 1% of the land area. This leaves less for most Americans for most of their lives in most locations.
Do you want real health care for real Americans and for most Americans? Take over the designs for education, health care workforce, and health care spending.
Few Americans benefit for a few years of their lives, often near the end of their life with benefits for just 1% of the land area. This leaves less for most Americans for most of their lives in most locations.
Do you want real health care for real Americans and for most Americans? Take over the designs for education, health care workforce, and health care spending.
Remember when courts fought for most Americans left behind and we complained about the courts. Well even the courts have been left behind and we have more laws and more lawlessness.
Nations that invest the most time, talent, and treasures on the youngest will have the best results – in education, employment, creativity, and longevity – by designs favoring most Americans.
Past and oldest generations taught about time, talents, and treasures - and must learn the most to return focus their time, their talents, and their treasures to those least in age - for any real hope of avoiding ever more destruction - by designs.
Thanks to all 12,000 who have visited Basic Health Access in 2011.
Robert C. Bowman, M.D. Basic Health Access Web Basic Health Access Blog
Dr. Bowman is the North American Co-Editor of Rural and Remote Health and a Professor in Family Medicine at A T Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He was the founding chair of the Rural Medical Educators Group of the National Rural Health Association, he was the long term chair of the STFM Group on Rural Health, he is the founding director of Priority Infrastructure at http://www.infrastructureamerica.org/ and he is the author of the World of Rural Medical Education, and Physician Workforce Studies
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