Comments on: How Our Healthcare System Killed the King of Pop

By: Peggy McKee

Peggy McKee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:29:59 +0000

Do what you will with the healthcare system – the MJ’s of the world will go outside of the US and get what they want. Those who can’t afford to leave will be left with what you carve out for us. Doctors did not kill MJ – poor decisions (Michael’s) killed him. Michael was a talented person who certainly would have known that those types of drugs are not to be taken lightly. He chose to continue on and take them. Our “national healthcare” won’t apply to those who have money – they will get the care that they want. It will however, add additional financial stress – how can we absorb the cost of healthcare without additional taxes? And many businesses are running too lean to afford any further taxation – and I think that would be where Obama would look for the money. (Which guess what: means more businesses will go under and more people will be unemployeed) He doesn’t seem as interested in requiring personal responsibility and buying the insurance that you need rather than the big screen TV or the jacked up car. Another thought – every thing that is nationalized stinks – why? no competitive or capitalist reason to improve or maintain a level of service. So – our car makers are most certainly not going to do a better job. I don’t want to “bail” out any more industries. So let’s leave MJs story where it belongs – in People Magazine or MTV or some other entertainment mag – another celebrity that burned out too quickly. Don’t try to make this a political piece.
BTW – I loved his music and am sad to see him go – much like I was sad when Elvis died.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:21:17 +0000

You’re right Maggie, and don’t get me wrong-I am in no way in favor of a single government system. But it was PILLS-PILLS-and more PILLS that did him in. And I do favor a system with a single Physician paid and incented to review and coordinate his scripts and his overall care-his “medical home”. I doubt it would have had any impact in MJ’s case-where you have a will, a way and the wherewithall. But at least he would have have been forced outside of the system (i.e. the street) to feed his habit.

And for others who abuse within the system who don’t have the $$$, it would be more difficult to find their fix and might prevent a similar unfortunate demise.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:56:44 +0000

Judy-

You raise a huge issue here regarding coverage for non-traditional holistic/naturopathic medicine. I have been in the health insurance business for 20+ years, and I cannot tell you how often the subject comes up and about how rarely coverage is provided. Frankly, I have no idea how/if any of the proposals being floated account for treatment and coverage-I’ll need to research a little myself.

As for the basis for CER, here is the link to the page with the draft definitions:

http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/draftdefinition.html

It really is about sharing data and following peer reviewed acadamic research on best practices for specific conditions. Here is a draft list of the conditions being suggested by the Institues of Mediucine (IOM)–go to page 80 for the listing:

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12648&page=80

Based on the scope outlined so far, it is hard to imagine they will be promoting natural remedies anytime soon…

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:42:23 +0000

If you have the money and you surround yourself by “Yes” people, you’ll get anything you want.

The system is flawed but a perfect system won’t stop those that can afford to bypass it from abusing it or dying.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:10:32 +0000

Maggie, I respect your love for Michael with your comment but frankly an unhappy childhood and media spotlighting doesn’t “kill” someone. The bottom line is he was a drug addict and yes the healthcare system could have prevented this by restricting his prescription drug intake. To Bill’s point, the system is flawed because it allowed him to have many doctors therefore gaining access to all their “prescription power”. If Michael had an established “medical home”, he would have been treated as NECESSARY. Big Robby, you’re right it’s not an isolated case but something tells me you and I couldn’t go to our family doctor and get scripts for Demerol, Dilaudid, Zoloft, Vicodin, Soma, Paxil, Xanax, and Prilosec. Regardless, he will always be the KING!

By: Judy Major

Judy Major — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:49:30 +0000

Does “evidence-based medicine” include alternative and complementary methodologies based on a tradition of observation and citation? Or does it only include science that tends to be biased toward financial reward? If we maintain the current medical model, evolving as it is away from the expertise of trained physicians(as limited as it is to diagnosing symptoms and prescribing pharmaceuticals or surgery)to the “expertise” of science in prescribing the same, we are perpetuating a system that has proven not only unsustainably expensive, but ineffective at best and deadly in alarmingly increasing statistics. If I am forced, as I understand I may be, to buy medical insurance, be sure that it allows me to visit a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, and others who contribute to my high level of health at the same deductibles as for physicians who, by their very training and propensity, must wait until my health is threatened by disease before they can begin to either understand or act. And be sure that any medical system that we move to recognizes the dangers of forcing democratic citizens from medical practices they deem dangerous or unacceptable.

By: maggie

maggie — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:42:03 +0000

It wasn’t our healthcare system that killed MJ…it was MJ himself, along with his abusive father, his unhappy childhood, the intense media spotlight, mental illness, and the power of money. Federal mandated healthcare would have done NOTHING to prevent this.

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