Fix Health Care Before I Die, Please!

I've written once before about my concern over the way Health Care Reform is going. Or not going, as it should be more accurately described.

Frankly, it is a sad commentary on our political system that all the time and effort congress has spent on this issue may be wasted if, as now seems likely, no real change in our health care system happens. In particular I blame the obstructionism of the Republicans, though the stunning ineptitude of the Democrats is also a reason.

The Republicans continue to oppose the current health care bill, which no longer contains a government option as an alternative choice to corporate insurance, let alone any kind of proposal for a single payer system similar to France, Canada, Great Britain, and several other countries. Even the present proposal, Republicans argue, will be too expensive and will lead to too much government involvement in health care. The facts don't support either of these arguments.

There is abundant evidence that health care in America is inferior to that of the rest of the first world, and that we need to fix this -- assuming, of course that we believe our country should rank at least equal to other modern nations in providing access to affordable health care. In our local paper, West Hawaii Today, a recent letter to the editor captures much of my view so well I've reprinted it below.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 8:33 AM HST Revealing the ranking

I'd like to correct Mr. Radmilovich's letter. The U.S. health care ranking isn't around 20th, it's 37th (World Health Organization). France is number one.

You might ask in what ways? How about hospital beds per 1,000 in population? France has 8.4, U.S. only 3.6. Winner France. Number of doctors per 1,000 in population? France has 3.37, U.S. only 2.3. Winner France. Life expectancy? France 80.87 years, U.S. 78.14. Winner again France.

As a matter of fact the only two ways the U.S. beats France in health care rankings is the percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), France spends only 11 percent, U.S. spends a whopping 17.2 percent -- and cost per person. The U.S. pays $6,096.20 per person, France pays $3,464.70 per person annually, That's $2,631.50 per person, or about 43 percent less than the U.S. pays, and France is number one and we are number 37. And France covers 100 percent of its citizens, while the U.S. covers about one in six of its citizens, (source, nationmaster.com)

This nation's four decades long experiment with "for profit" health care has been a cruel, inhuman, and expensive nightmare. And I don't see anything coming from either major political party that's going to make it much better.

H.R. 676 is the best way to tackle this mess, and nobody in corporate-owned Washington is saying anything about it.

Mark Stone

Kailua-Kona

So, let's see. France (and other countries with health systems ranked higher than ours) provides more health care to more people for less money. If we're so superior to the rest of the world, as the Republicans insist we are, then surely we can figure out a way to accomplish what .... pittooweey!....France has done. Please, let's get on with it!

I Got My New GPS!

In an earlier post I wrote about why I needed a new GPS. Well, Santa dug into his toy bag and brought me a new one for Christmas. Oh, yessssss! This baby will do practically everything except maybe tie your hiking boots. Speaking of hiking boots, maybe I should get a new pair to go with the upgraded GPS?..... Anyway, my hiking buddy from Oregon and I gave the new toy...er, TOOL, a good test last week, and I'm happy to report it passed with flying colors.

My friend and I are both the same age, which is the time of life when men still have the drive to do stupid risky things but have bodies that can no longer get them out of trouble when they do. For the past couple of years we have been exploring old lava flows here in Hawai'i. This is tough hiking, because lava cools to become razor sharp rock which will shred skin at a touch, particularly skin that now seems to bruise or bleed in a strong breeze. It is also often loose, jumbly, and uneven -- a particular challenge for those with a less than perfect sense of balance.

However, it also cools in some of the most fascinating patterns you can imagine. Like stone browny batter, with drips and drops, tangles and splatters. The patterns are endless, and each flow seems to have different characteristics that make them always fascinating to explore.

One of the features of lava flows here on the island of Hawai'i is that they often form tubes -- channels of lava that are completely enclosed and can be miles long. In fact, this is how lava can travel so far from the source -- the walls of the tubes insulate the molten magma so that it stays fluid. As an eruption dies down, these tubes empty out and leave tunnels that can be a real thrill to poke around in. Of course, it is also a teensy bit dangerous, which can make it all the more attractive!

Now, back to my GPS. When I got my new model I noticed one of its features is called "geocaching." I then learned that geocaching has been around for about 10 years, and according to Wikipedia, it is "...an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a tupperware or ammo box) containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek", sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking .... Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.^[1] As of February 8, 2010, there are over 984,900 active geocaches over the world.^[2]"

It turns out that somebody hid a geocache near an unmapped lava tub about 30 miles from where I live and published the coordinates on Geocache.Com, I downloaded the position into my new GPS and my friend and I set out to find it. Yup, the new toy guided us right to the spot, requiring a hike across open lava, of course, and in an area that we would never have thought to look for a tube. When I say it guided us to the spot, I actually mean to the coordinates. As anyone who has had a senior (or junior) moment can attest, just because you're within 15-20 feet of something doesn't mean you can see it. I must admit there was a tad bit of luck in finding the actual box containing the cache -- if we had approached from a different angle we might have stood right over it and not seen it.

We then proceeded to hike through the tube, which required flashlights (next time we have to take extra batteries!) and a smidge of stupidity. Oh yes, and just a little bit of blood.