Bobby Steele on Health Care

  

156652 comments so far (is that a lot?)http://www.parcbench.com/2010/02/16/bobby-steele-on-health-care/Bobby+Steele+on+Health+Care2010-02-16+12%3A31%3A13Bobby+Steele

Written by Bobby SteelecloseAuthor: Bobby Steele Name: Bobby Steele
Email: undead@juno.com
Site: http://www.theundead.com
About: Steele is one tough MF-overcame Spina Bifida, Polio, a spinal cord tumor in 1969, and a fall between the cars of a moving NYC Subway train... only to change the history of Rock'nRoll as guitarist in the legendary THE MISFITS,and then THE UNDEAD - whose debut ushered in the Renaissance of the East Village.See Authors Posts (3) on February 16, 2010

Here are a few facts to consider when you’re listening to discussions on this issue.

I was born in 1956 with Spina Bifida. At the time, my father worked for a small auto dealership as a mechanic. In 1962, he left that job and a year later landed a new one. In the interim, we moved to Hawaii, where jobs were lacking and schools weren’t up to par. While there, I contracted a strain of Polio. Yet, after moving back to New Jersey and finding new employment, and then discovering that I also had a tumor in my spine that was a result of the Spina Bifida (that oft-discussed “pre-existing condition” we hear so much about in this debate), the insurance company picked up the entire tab for surgery that, in today’s dollars would probably add up to well over a million dollars.

So there was a time when Insurance companies paid. Then, people got greedy. It wasn’t enough that insurance was there for those unexpected expenses – they wanted it to pay for everything from major surgery to aspirin.

And then, we had the lawyers. A few months after recovering from my surgery, my parents had taken me to a fast food restaurant – where a lawyer spotted me. He didn’t approach my parents, but came directly to me and asked what had happened to me. Then, he offered to sue the doctor and hospital, promising me a fat payoff. Even at 13 I knew this was wrong. “You want me to sue the man who saved my life?!” Greed. Even if I’d followed through, and won – that lawyer would’ve walked away with the bulk of the money.

It’s these ambulance chasers, the John Edwardses who exploit the misfortunes of others for profit, who are the cause of the high cost of medical care, not the so-called ‘greedy doctors’ who’ve invested the best years of their life to learning how to help people and save lives. I don’t know the actual statistic, but I’d bet that at least 70% of what you pay when you see the doctor goes to pay the high premiums they have to pay for Malpractice Insurance. Lawyers count on the greed and ignorance of people who can’t comprehend the meaning of the release they sign prior to treatment, that “medicine is NOT an exacting science, and results cannot be guaranteed.” Yet I understood at the age of 13.

It’s rare that a doctor is truly negligent and guilty of malpractice – but these snakes are also aware that most juries will have no sympathy for a “rich” doctor and, hey, it’s really the insurance company’s money anyway.’ The worst part is that the patient usually comes out with nothing in the end – even when there’s a huge payout, because these slick lawyers know how to pad their bills.

It’s obvious that the best solution to the healthcare mess is to lower the cost – and not in trying to accommodate the current exorbitant costs. It’s gonna take a lot of thought – but essentially we should pay for all basic care on our own. Why are people laying out hundreds, and sometimes thousands or dollars each month to cover a possible office visit that might cost $100?

Just having coverage for the unexpected, instead of the everyday, would take a large bite out of the cost of medical insurance. It’s also time to say “screw you” to the lawyers. Why not have medical disaster insurance? This would be a sort of ‘no fault’ coverage – if anything goes wrong during medical treatment, this policy would cover all of the patients needs for as long as they live, as opposed to the current system that only supports a patient when the doctor is a screwup. Just by eliminating the need for a lawyer who’d end up taking 50% of a court settlement anyway – we’re saving money. From there, if malpractice is suspected, the doctor could be put under review by a jury of his peers who would determine if he was negligent, and either fine him, suspend him, or revoke his license.

Then, we can leave the charity for those who actually need it – and the rest could afford their medical care, AND that 52inch HDTV.

At least now, if your insurance company tries to screw you around, you can go to the government. But if your insurance company is the government – who do you complain to?

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Bobby Steele leads the infamous Punk group, The Undead, and was one of the original guitarist for the legendary Misfits.

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