HEALTH CARE IS INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED EVERYWHERE

I can't understand why there is such a complex situation regarding healthcare not just in the US but really in the world. There is currently a bill before congress attempting to repeal "Obamacare" otherwise known as The Affordable Care Act. Let's look at healthcare in a less complicated manner for a second.

Health Care is not a privilege that should only be afforded to those that can afford it and yet it seems that it's that precise issue the one that is plaguing it. People aspire for affordable care but truthfully it gets more and more out of reach daily. I don't think the problem lies with the costs associated so much as it does with the fact that insurance determines whether or not to pay a physician. I am familiar with this because my father was a physician and he constantly struggled with insurance companies and often they did not comply.

Insurance is the middle man that is supposed to facilitate care and it fails to do it in a regal manner. Now I ask: Is socialized medical care an answer? The answer is a big no. Let's look at the European Union for a quick second. if you look at the rankings of the World Health Organization most countries in the EU fund over 75% of their medical care publicly. Years ago that idea was brought before congress by Hillary Clinton during her husband's administration and it failed miserably.

The problem with socialized medicine is that the system is not executed in a manner that benefits the patient. I know that in the Netherlands which has a WHO ranking of 17 and a European ranking of 14 and  there are big deficiencies. Prescriptions are given and not properly monitored while specialist visits are rarely recommended by primary care physicians. While I respect a PCP I don't understand why one would decide that he or she could do the job of a Neurologist, Gynecologist, or for that matter Cardiologist.

We can avoid the issues plaguing care in the US if we regulate insurance and learn to police their practices as opposed to serving their interests. I also think that the EU system would work far more effectively if a number of specialist visits and proper monitoring of medication was put more effeciently into play. While socialized medicine works through a system of taxation it does not really mean it's effective in nature and practice.

If Obamacare is repealed, which I doubt, we go back to scrambling for a solution to a problem that's spent nearly a half century on the congressional floor. I think that in order to solve the problem people need to educate themselves and understand the definitions of words such as socialism, and terms such necessary taxation medical care.

Let's move on our own behalf because democracy says we can.

WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE

This particular blog is about mental illness and the complexity of it. I am not an expert nor can I claim to be one even though my mother is a Psychologist. I can't say that my coursework on basic Psych allows me a vast understanding of mental illness outside of basic knowledge such as Oedipal and Jocasta complexes. I was compelled to write about this because of the news of the sentencing of  Jared Lee Loughner who not too long ago was the central figure in a massacre that resulted in many gravely injured and in the shooting  and critical wounding of US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. 

To my understanding Jared Lee Loughner is a schizophrenic under severe drug treatment at least after the attack. To me this is a human tragedy of the very worst kind not just because of the loss of six people, and the wounding of thirteen including Giffords. To me it was also a tragedy because this is the type of event that puts such a stigma on mental illness that it prevents people who suffer from it to be seen as productive. I understand that in case of schizophrenia it's very hard to be productive but it is far from impossible.

By definition schizophrenia is " a disease that makes it hard to think clearly, understand the difference between real and fake and act normally in social situations." Often times environmental factors do play a role in the development of such a problem. In the case of Loughner it seems that usage of alcohol as well as hallucinogens and his inability to cope with rejection really led to his explosion. Then there are Loughner's issues with female figures in positions of power. 

To me Loughner is a psychopath that took one too many drugs and decided to try and carry out his will. My biggest problem with this whole situation is that I have seen people diagnosed with schizophrenia try and lead normal lives yes under heavy psychotropic medications and yes sometimes under a degree of supervision. I feel that it is unfair to characterize mental illness as a dark spot on the basis of one isolated incident. 

I am not saying that this is happening now after this ruling but I can hear the sounds of ignorance and widespread stupidity coming a mile away. Let's call it as it is and draw the line where it needs to be drawn. Loughner was an asshole with a huge frustration that revolved around a real distaste for women in general among other things. I don't think it was his illness that pulled the trigger it was his nature.