i approve of this message too kyle. --- On Sun, 8/31/08, Cleveland, Kyle E. <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > From: Cleveland, Kyle E. <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Great ad, and McCain Adviser on the uninsured > To: [log in to unmask] > Date: Sunday, August 31, 2008, 8:27 PM > Digoxin costs about $2.87 per 25mcg dose for a 30 day > supply. That dog doesn't hunt for me. My out-of-pocket > for an emergency room visit and subsequent hospitalization > averages four time the out-of-pocket for the uninsured > because I have to pick up their share of the cost. > That's no spin, that's how the actuarial tables > work. I have great health insurance, but my employer, > county government, offers $4.00 co-pay cards to virtually > anyone who doesn't have a prescription drug plan. Sure, > most of these meds are generics, but everything I buy is > generic as well. > > Is the health care system broke? It sure is. But most > ER's in university or community hospitals do have a > dispensary for the indigent. Here's the real problem: > Many people below the poverty line do not have healthy > lifestyles. Foods that population tends to eat is often > highly processed. Fresh food ain't cheap. But, neither > are cigarettes (ca. $5.00/pack around here). Given the > choice of fresh fruits and veggies or a Big Mac and a pack > of smokes for about the same price--the latter is going to > win. There is an inverse relationship between income and > obesity. There is an inverse relationship between income > and diabetes. There is an inverse relationship between > income and high blood pressure. Is the lack of income the > causitive factor here? Probably not. You can eat well > cheaply. You cannot eat well cheaply AND easily. Is > education the answer? Maybe--if your audience is willing to > listen and learn. Fatty foods are addictive as nicotine. > Pleasant food texture due to fats plays so much a part of > the palability of food. Healthy foods often do not have > pleasant texture, but they can be made to mimic the textures > found in polyunsaturated fats. Hummus, for example, has a > fat-like texture due to the pasty-ness of the ground chick > pea and it's very cheap to make. However, fat-mimic > foods like hummus are not part of the cultural diet of most > of America's poor. Most folks coming from rural > southern backgrounds like my family ("poor white > trash") use lots of fats in their cooking because fats > and frying makes cheap foodstuffs palatable. Momma still > cooks this way for family gatherings ("all day" > green beans with a bit of fat-back or salt pork, fried okra, > fried green tomatoes, various greens with fat added--you get > the picture). > > My parents are the only children out of twenty some > siblings that did not smoke, chew, or dip snuff into > adulthood. They had two things going for them: military > careers that exposed them to culture outside of the PWT > south and the free education that military service provided, > and they were part of the great post--war diaspora that > brought southerners north in droves to work in the auto > plants. When my parents retired from the military, many of > their siblings had moved to the Great Lakes area to work in > the auto industry. The military of the late-50's and > 60's was devoid of the caste system experienced by rural > southerners and this same phenomenon was experienced by auto > workers. Most of the diaspora continued unhealthy habits > like smoking, overeating and excessive use of alcohol. > There was a core, however, of poor white southerners who > took advantage of education benefits, such as those provided > by the G.I. bill, and came to the knowledge that these > habits were incompatible with good health. As a result, > there was a reverse diaspora of newly educated > second-generation southerners who retuned south to cities > like Huntsville and Atlanta and sowed the seeds of the > "New South". > > What most of these folks understood (including my parents), > was that they had a personal responsibility in their own > health. Good habits led to good health. It was a simple > equation. The rest of the population that continued bad > habits also tended to take less personal responsibility for > the results of those bad habits. > > It does not take a lot of money to establish a healthy > lifestyle. It takes work and responsibility for your own > health before you get to the point of chronic disease such > as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, > arteriosclerosis--the list goes on. Folks like us (CPers) > who have a disadvantage out of the starting block need to be > even more mindful of our lifestyle. If we're not > capable of making those decisions and actions on our own, > then our caretakers need to be our proxies. This is a > personal responsibility--as much as possible. It is not the > responsibility of the federal or state governments to ensure > that we take care of ourselves the best we can. In the > cases where we can't take care of ourselves, this needs > to be pushed down to the smallest local level possible. I > have found local faith-based organizations to be the most > effective resource for those in need. My family routinely > works in inner-city Columbus at a non-denominational > "Faith Mission" to cook hot, healthy meals for > those who caan't feed themselves. We take no pride in > this as we are crushed by the weight of their need. Many > street folks have serious psychological issues that could be > addressed by medication, freely available, but they cannot > realize, in their altered perception of reality, that the > meds will help give them the tools they need to function in > society. No amount of "government programming" is > going to make a drop of difference in these folks lives. > What will make a difference is for people like me, and > others on this list who are able, rolling up their sleeves > and going down to the 'hoods and serving these people at > their level. Yep, it's scary and dirty and you see some > "interesting" things, but people have to be > willing to give of themselves. That ain't the > government's job. It's mine. > > My name is Kyle Cleveland and my wife approved this > message. ;-) > > ________________________________ > > From: Cerebral Palsy List on behalf of Peter Hunsberger > Sent: Fri 8/29/2008 1:02 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Great ad, and McCain Adviser on the uninsured > > > > > > > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/28/mccain-adviser-there-are_n_122095.html > > > > I can't believe anyone in their right mind would > attempt to spin the > US health insurance situation in such an completely inane > way! Do > they really think that having (supposedly guaranteed) > emergency room > access is somehow equivalent to having health insurance? > Let's see > how this would work in reality; can't afford your > digitalis medication > because you have no health insurance? Don't worry > about it; the > emergency room treatment will be free when you have the > heart attack > it was supposed to prevent... > > This is just about the most stupid and insulting position > on health > insurance I have ever heard (and being in the business > I've heard a > lot)! > > -- > Peter Hunsberger > > ----------------------- > > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go > here: > > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy > > > > ----------------------- > > To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go > here: > > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy ----------------------- To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy