The US of A: The World's Newest Third World Country

[JuniperLea]

I can't get this out of my head. An organization dedicated to providing basic medical care in third world countries has set up shop over the past few days in Los Angeles. Yes, Los Angeles. And they are turning thousands away because the response has been so overwhelming.

Fine Christian nation we are...

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Who are the people coming to access your services?

The people are across the board. I have done 776 of these operations. People get the impression that it is for the homeless and it is for the unemployed. Yes, we do have homeless people here, but we also have a large number of patients that have jobs but don’t have insurance. Or the insurance they have doesn't’t include dentistry or vision. Or perhaps the co-pay is more than they can afford. Health care in this country is unfortunately a privilege of the wealthy and the well-insured. Outside of that, unless you are a child where you can access some state and federal program like SCHIP, you can’t just afford the system.

Are these people talking about the health care debate going around the country? Do they go to the town halls?

I don’t know. But two weekends ago, we saw 2,715 patients in two days. And we had 1,784 volunteers – doctors, nurses etc. And it was near Bristol, Tenn. Three days after the event President Obama came down to Bristol, Tenn. and had a town hall meeting with employees of a large grocery chain in Bristol. If he had been brought down there two or three days earlier, just up the road from Bristol, he could have seen thousands of people desperate for care and 1,700 people anxious to provide that care.

This sounds like the Grapes of Wrath.

We are in one of the richest states in the richest country. Yet the WHO lists the U.S. as number 37 in countries that provide care for their citizens. If you are going to get very, very ill in the United States perhaps you need to move to France.

Here in America we have this extraordinary law that a doctor, dentist, nurse, veterinarian, duly trained and licensed in one state, taking the same exams, meeting the same standards, is not allowed to cross state lines and provide free care for people in need. That law needs to be changed and it would be at no cost to the taxpayer. We could have solved the shortage of dentists and eye doctors in Los Angeles if they could have given us a waiver to bring in doctors from outside the state. The only state out of the whole 50 that allows unimpeded access to doctors is Tennessee since they changed the law there in 1995.

Do these various health care plans and options being discussed in Congress address the root cause of the problems of the people lined up outside your doors?

Probably not. If you look at the profile of the 1,500 patients that were standing outside before daybreak you can say they all probably need to see a general medical practitioner about things like diabetes and heart disease but they are there primarily because they need their teeth fixed because they are in agony from bad teeth. They are there primarily to get their vision checked and obtain a pair of eyeglasses so they can get a job and drive more safely. Any program that the government implements here must address vision and dental care, in addition to the general medical issues.

Here's another good article from the South Bay's Daily Breeze:

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With no job, no insurance and a family of four to feed, Jimmy Saldano's bad knees have taken a back seat to other priorities.

"I worked 12 hours a day in construction, and now there's no work," the Hawthorne resident said. "I can't afford to go to the doctor, and I can't work with this pain."

Saldano and hundreds of others camped out at the Forum in Inglewood early Tuesday hoping to be treated at a massive health clinic for those without insurance or money to pay a doctor.

The event, which will last through Tuesday, was a visual testament to the health care crisis in Los Angeles County.

Dental services were popular among the hundreds who sought free medical care at the Forum in Inglewood. (Robert Casillas/Staff Photographer)Perhaps most telling, the organization that put together the event, Tennessee-based Remote Area Medical, is better known for providing health care to Third World countries.


http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_13038443?source=rv

http://lang.dailybreeze.com/photos/photos.html#id=813599&num=8

And pictures... this breaks my heart. :cry:



http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=5efe1ed4a7b13ebd578f9ea80f64537f

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Why isn't this on the evening news? I'm seeing it on local LA news, but nothing national. This illustrates perfectly the dire need for healthcare reform!

[valerief]

1. Maybe some first world countries will bring us aid, too. nt

[kenny blankenship]

2. They have something to teach us. But they can't aid us until we are willing to change and learn.

America is addicted to its eighteenth century political rhetoric - and it's killing us.
Some addicts have to hit bottom before they can change. It can't be far off now at this rate.

[JuniperLea]

3. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

I for one would welcome any help we could muster for these people.

[maxsolomon]

4. i think it's on the cover of the NYT today

but everything they say is a lie, according to my momz.

[JuniperLea]

5. My dad used to be that way...

We went round and round about Michael Moore's movies. Then one day a heavenly light shone upon him, and it was good, and he jumped GOP ship and voted for Obama.

I loves me my daddy!

[maxsolomon]

6. i'm hoping my dad is salvagable

we shall see what we shall see.