An American living in France gets breast cancer, and points out the ludicrousness of how ’socialized healthcare = hell-hole’.
I haven’t blogged in here much lately because I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and I’ve just (today even) gotten a letter from one of those “death” panels. Amazingly, I wasn’t shaking when I got the letter. They are called Medical Councils here and they determine whether someone is eligible or not for 100 percent medical coverage provided by the state, due to a prolonged illness that is in no way the fault of the patient.
This “Council” provides an essential service that is desperately needed in the US. It makes a decision about a patient’s health that does not depend upon considerations like age, income, pre-existing conditions or lifestyle. The council has only one question to answer: does the patient have an illness (or trauma) that requires long term treatment? If the answer to that question is yes, the person is immediately covered at 100 percent for the duration of the illness. the NHS functions in the same way, hence Hawking’s extended care.
the opening paragraph was… “let me go bash my head against a wall”:
The editor of Investor Business Weekly speculated that the eminent scientist Steven Hawking would have been eliminated by NHS death panels had he been, erh.. British.
i enjoyed the the daily show’s extended interview with austan goolsby, chief economist of the economic recovery board. here is part 1 of the extended interview (hulu.com).
there was a segment, reform madness — white minority (hulu.com) where they showed a clip of a woman crying “i want my america back”, and larry wilmore’s like “she wants *her* america back, go tell that to the indians.” seriously!
at times like these, it becomes evident why young people are notorious for political apathy. there are a disturbing number of people in the current generation who seem to be hell-bent on screwing up our future. they think obama is changing america for the worse, but they don’t recognize progress when they see it. they spout conservative vitriol that breeds xenophobia and fear of change. the exasperating stupidity exhibited in what is happening now… it’s hard for me to believe that this is actually happening. people would rather have the status quo? seriously? and making shit up like “death panels” and ‘obama wants to kill your grandma’? to paraphrase from the daily show, we already have death panels, they’re called insurance companies
all i know is that i better stay healthy in the years to come.
or i could move to canada.
ironic how moving to canada was also an option when bush won the re-election. less far-fetched now, perhaps.
