"As men, we are all equal in the presence of death." - Publilius Syrus (~100 B.C.)
Minorities Fare Worse On Healthcare
that was the title of one of the cleveland plain dealer's "news minute" headlines on today's front page. as with anything suggesting that our great land of inequality is actually keeping tabs on such things and making said results readily available to the public it sparked my interest. i find it amusing that after decades of public duress and outcry, we still can't seem to sum up the final score on civil rights and personal equality. the article says that minorities (they include those, of all races on state and federal health plans and the uninsured as disproportionately minorities) do not tend to go to hospitals where they can receive definative care in an emergency or otherwise, regardless as to stats showing that their life could be saved from impending doom and disease by going to the best hospital for the job.
example: the cleveland clinic provides the best cardiothoracic surgical care IN THE WORLD! yet, as the artical states, minorities won't and most times can't go there because they don't have the proper insurance (because they can't afford it) and Medicaid and Medicare won't foot the bill.
what they say about the studies and stats is this: minorities on average are more prone to illness, have more rick for complications, recover more slowly, and die from those illnesses and at a younger age. another study says that minorities tend to be poorer and less educated, with less access to care. in addition, it alludes to the possibility that minorities will more readily go to a hospital which handles a lower volume of certain surgeries and specialties rather than those with higher volume and more experience. another survey shows that Medicare HMO has done some quality improvment to shrink the gaps between care provided to minorities and whites. i haven't noticed, but the price of a casket hasn't changed.
my question: when will someone take responsibility for the healthcare problem in this country, and look past all the bureaucratic bullshit so the less fortunate and impoverished can finally have some fucking hope?
PS: the assistant professor of community health at Brown University on the gaps found between blacks and whites when it comes to healthcare coverage and treatment: "We can't say specifically why the gaps exist in each [health]plan."
that was the title of one of the cleveland plain dealer's "news minute" headlines on today's front page. as with anything suggesting that our great land of inequality is actually keeping tabs on such things and making said results readily available to the public it sparked my interest. i find it amusing that after decades of public duress and outcry, we still can't seem to sum up the final score on civil rights and personal equality. the article says that minorities (they include those, of all races on state and federal health plans and the uninsured as disproportionately minorities) do not tend to go to hospitals where they can receive definative care in an emergency or otherwise, regardless as to stats showing that their life could be saved from impending doom and disease by going to the best hospital for the job.
example: the cleveland clinic provides the best cardiothoracic surgical care IN THE WORLD! yet, as the artical states, minorities won't and most times can't go there because they don't have the proper insurance (because they can't afford it) and Medicaid and Medicare won't foot the bill.
what they say about the studies and stats is this: minorities on average are more prone to illness, have more rick for complications, recover more slowly, and die from those illnesses and at a younger age. another study says that minorities tend to be poorer and less educated, with less access to care. in addition, it alludes to the possibility that minorities will more readily go to a hospital which handles a lower volume of certain surgeries and specialties rather than those with higher volume and more experience. another survey shows that Medicare HMO has done some quality improvment to shrink the gaps between care provided to minorities and whites. i haven't noticed, but the price of a casket hasn't changed.
my question: when will someone take responsibility for the healthcare problem in this country, and look past all the bureaucratic bullshit so the less fortunate and impoverished can finally have some fucking hope?
PS: the assistant professor of community health at Brown University on the gaps found between blacks and whites when it comes to healthcare coverage and treatment: "We can't say specifically why the gaps exist in each [health]plan."
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