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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 29, 2008
/ 23 Adar I 5768
Dying for Universal Healthcare British Patients Starved and Left inAmbulances
By
Drs. Michael A. Glueck & Robert J. Cihak
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The Democratic candidates tell us they can provide healthcare for all
either mandated or not. It sounds utopian except they don't say how we
will pay for it or that the quality and quantity of care will go down as
costs go up.
If we think we want universal healthcare first we need to make a few reality
checks. It hasn't worked in Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Russia.
There are some alarming health abuses going on in the United Kingdom
recently noted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and
others.
To meet U.K. government targets, which require emergency department patients
to be treated within four hours, thousands of patients are kept in
ambulances outside the department for hours. Last year, more than 43,000
patients waited for more than an hour before being allowed into the
emergency room.
Ambulances that are being used as "mobile waiting rooms" are unavailable to
take fresh calls. The Labour government brought in the four-hour standard in
an effort to end the scandal of patients waiting in casualty for days (Daily
Mail 2/20/08).
British patients are being denied certain operations because of lack of
worthiness, based on smoking, obesity, heavy drinking, or age. Officials are
urging patients to turn to "self care" instead of physician visits.
Statistics from the Conservative Party show that the number of patients
released from British National Health Service (NHS) hospitals with
malnutrition has doubled in the decade since Labour came to power,
increasing from 74,431 in 1997 to 139,127. While most of the patients had
nutritional deficiencies on admission, the nutritional condition of at least
8,500 actually worsened during their hospital stay.
Last year, Health Minister Ivan Lewis admitted that patients were being
starved on the wards, with some elderly patients given little more than a
scoop of mashed potatoes for lunch. Often, elderly patients are given
non-pureed food that they cannot chew or swallow. Food trays may be placed
out of reach and simply taken away when patients are too weak to get to them
(Telegraph 1/1/08). "The threat to cut benefits to the old and the unhealthy
in Britain is a clear confirmation that healthcare can never be free," he
says. "The threat also shows that healthcare can't be truly universal, at
least not for the long term, because it becomes too costly to maintain as
such" ("Health Freezes Over," Investors Business Daily 1/29/08).
One way to relieve strains on the system is to allow patients to pay
privately for portions of their carewhile still receiving "basic" care from
the NHS. For example, patient Debbie Hirst, who has metastatic breast
cancer, attempted to raise $120,000 to pay for Avastin, a drug widely used
in the U.S. and Europe but not available to NHS patients until the cancer is
so widespread that treatment may be hopeless.
Such arrangements have tacitly been allowed before, but in this case the
doctor delivered the news that he was getting his wrists slapped by the
higher-ups. If the patient paid for Avastin, so goes the logic, she'd have
to pay for all of her treatment far more than she could afford.
Patients "hopscotch" all the time, for example paying for a timely private
consultation or MRI, then getting their surgery from the NHS. But "that way
lies the end of the founding principles of the NHS," said health secretary
Alan Johnson to parliament.
The rules for private co-payments are contradictory and confusing. The idea
of the NHS may be to assure rich and poor get equal treatment, but the
system is riddled with inequities. Drug availability, waiting lists, and per
capita spending for cancer care vary wildly from region to region.
As patient Hirst explained: "I'm a person who left school at 15 and I've
worked all my life and paid into the system, and I'm not going to live long
enough to get my old-age pension from this government" (New York Times
2/21/08).
There is no need to die while seeking universal care.
Editor's Note: This week's commentary is submitted by Michael Arnold Glueck,
M.D.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., is a multiple award winning writer who comments
on medical-legal issues. Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is a Discovery Institute
Senior Fellow and a past president of the Association of American Physicians
and Surgeons. Both JWR contributors are Harvard trained diagnostic radiologists.
Comment by clicking here.
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