Albatross (a1batross) wrote, @ 2009-08-17 19:45:00

Health Care Reform Screed


A British acquaintance wrote to complain that Britain's public health service was being libelled by U. S. media, such as the Investors Business Daily article claiming that if Stephen Hawking had to depend on the British Health Service he would have died long ago. (Apparently unknown to the journalistic stawlarts at IBD is that Hawking is a British citizen, and has survived all these years on that exact care.) Here's my reply:

Economic nationalism and bigotry are being used by American corporate media in their all-out propaganda offensive to prevent any reform to health insurance in the United States. In such an environment, complaints that the British Health Service is being slandered will never be aired, much less elicit any empathy.

While more than two-thirds of Americans desire such reform, much more than two thirds of our Congress has been bribed, I'm sorry, "lobbied" by the health care industry to ensure no such thing occurs. The population knows it. We know that the supposedly brilliant Obama has somehow managed to repeat the first term gaffes of the Clinton administration by recklessly and naively attempting to tackle the health care industry without laying sufficient Congressional groundwork. In other words, we're quite aware that we are being lied to and that our representatives have been bought, so your average American is rather more concerned about how to pay their medical bills (and, incidentally, the destruction of our representative democracy) than about the hurt feelings of our British and Canadian neighbors.

In February of this year my daughter cut her thumb, requiring five stitches - the cost to us was $1100, or £672. My mother waited too long to go to the hospital because she had no health insurance (and of course wouldn't burden her children with her problems). She finally went in the hospital on a Friday in March, and died on Sunday night: I got the call at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning.

The health care industry has billions of dollars with which to bribe Congress, broadcast lies on U.S. public airways, and organize fake "grassroots movements" against health care reform, all of which they've done. Half the Democrats are already bought, to say nothing of the Republicans who offer bulk discounts. Most of the major media is heavily sponsored by health care marketing, which tortures viewers with schmaltzy commercials describing novel diseases and then tells us to ask our doctors for the cure (then followed by a lengthy, graphic description of the horrid side effects). Terry Gilliam could not dream up a more dystopian and denial-laced nightmare for representative democracy.

What we need in America more than health care reform is public financing of electoral campaigns. It is by bribing politicians with electoral funding that American corporations have managed to undermine democracy, ensuring the perpetuation not only of the wildly profitable health care industry, but the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the continuing fraud that is our banking and investment system. Unfortunately what little organization there is among American populists is presently focused on the unlikely goal of health care reform, so I don't expect anything in America to improve any time soon. Without campaign finance reform, corporations will continue to control, and fleece, America.

As far as Britain or Canada goes, I wouldn't suggest holding your breath for a U.S. apology. You might pass out and end up in the hospital, which at least you could afford. I fractured several ribs in a bike accident in May, but refused an ambulance and sought no treatment. Because I have twins starting at public Universities in a couple of weeks and, like health care, a college education is extremely expensive over here too.