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November, 2009HEALTH CARE REFORM 2009
A 2,000 page, $1.2 trillion health care reform bill is before Congress. It is hard to understand how such an important, complex, and expensive bill can pass without extensive public debate and discussion. Undoubtedly the present system needs fixing. It seems to me however, that there are more immediate priorities such as: getting unemployed people back to work; moving the banks to loosen credit so that businesses can invest in development and hire new workers. Also there are two wars draining our resources, which need to be brought to a conclusion. The brave and selfless military personnel who are fighting for us overseas should have jobs available when they come home. Nevertheless, since there is a drive to pass health care reform now, I would like to share my perspective. Our medical care system is the best in the world when it comes to dealing with acute crises such as trauma, injuries, infectious diseases, cancer surgery, reconstructive surgery, heart attacks, and strokes. Unfortunately our system fails miserably when it comes to helping our citizens establish good health. Our medical care costs keep rising steeply because Americans are the unhealthiest people on earth. We cannot blame this entirely on the health care system. The pharmaceutical and food industries share the blame as well. The drug manufacturers want us to believe that we need their expensive products to ameliorate every symptom or discomfort we experience. Our bodies develop symptoms to show us that we have imbalances that require correction. If we simply eliminate symptoms with drugs instead of correcting the underlying problem, the underlying problem will continue to undermine our health. A wise professor once taught me to think of drugs as poisons, which occasionally have beneficial side effects. Just as the pharmaceutical industry is good at marketing overpriced and unnecessary drugs, the food industry is good at marketing unhealthy products. The food industry is skilled at creating foods from flour, high fructose corn syrup, omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable oils, chemical flavor enhancers and preservatives. These foods fill the central aisles of our grocery stores. Some examples are cereals, pop tarts, Twinkies, bread, pasta, soda pop, pretzels, chips, fruit roll ups, candy, cookies, and crackers. These foods are ideal from the manufacturer's point of view, because the ingredients are plentiful and cheap, and the products have a long shelf life. These foods are tasty, addictive, and require little or no preparation. The government heavily subsidizes the wheat, soybeans, and corn crops from which these foods originate. Since these highly refined foods are responsible for promoting obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, our government is directly implicated in degrading our health. Due to the enormous amount of money circulating in the health care system, corruption, self-interest, and scheming abounds. I can relate the following examples from my own personal perspective as a family doctor. Childbirth Options When I was doing home births, I was able to save each family at least $7,000 per birth. There were no hospital bills, no nursery bills, no anesthesia bills, and no medication bills. I was always curious about why the insurance companies didn't contact me to find out how they could expand home birth services and save themselves a lot of money. I was surprised to learn that they didn't mind paying higher prices for the equivalent service, because then they could justify charging exorbitant premiums to their customers for maternity coverage. The Cesarean section rate in the US is now an outrageous 35% of all births. My Cesarean section rate was 6.3% overall, due to my very healthy and well-informed patient population. Let's say that an attainable nationwide rate could be 15%. Since there are 4.6 million births per year in the United States, and if 20% of the Cesareans are unnecessary, then there would be 920,000 unnecessary Cesarean sections performed every year. Let's estimate the additional cost of a Cesarean section to be $15,000. Then the annual cost of those unnecessary Cesarean sections would be $13.8 billion! This is only one example of an unnecessary cost. You can see how a plethora of unnecessary expenses sends costs spiraling out of control. Breast Cancer When I was a medical student 35 years ago, I was taught that breast cancer was exclusively a disease of postmenopausal women. What changed since then to make breast cancer occur in women in their 20's, 30's, and 40's? One obvious answer is the introduction of synthetic hormones in the birth control pill since the 1960's. These hormones, which do not normally exist in a woman's body, are known carcinogens. The oral contraceptive pill was the first drug in history approved by the FDA for long-term use in a healthy person. We also now know that if we proactively treat symptoms of estrogen dominance such as PMS, heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroids, and endometriosis with bioidentical progesterone in physiologic doses, we can prevent breast cancer from occurring. For more information about bioidentical progesterone, refer to: Progesterone Facts . Studies regarding the benefits of progesterone appear in the medical journals. Since 35,000 women die in the US each year from breast cancer, why isn't this important information widely available to women? The answer lies in the existence of a "breast cancer industry". Research scientists, charitable organizations, the American Cancer Society, radiologists, oncologists, and surgeons receive funds to investigate their particular areas of interest. They promote more mammograms, more surgeries, more chemotherapy, and more diagnostic technology. No one in the group seems interested in preventing breast cancer. Scientists, clinicians, and technologists become entrenched in their narrow areas of expertise in which they have invested many years. They have little interest in pursuing alternatives that may lead them away from where their current livelihoods are derived. Cholesterol Total cholesterol levels have never been well correlated with mortality from cardiovascular disease. A much better index of cardiac risk would be the serum insulin level or the ratio of triglycerides to HDL (good) cholesterol. You can quickly improve these numbers by following a diet that has 40% of its calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat, and by taking a fish oil supplement. The pharmaceutical industry is making a huge profit on their statin drugs, like Lipitor, which artificially lower cholesterol levels. The drug companies have convinced doctors and patients that these drugs are better than dietary and life style changes, despite their potential serious side effects. For more information about cholesterol and diet, refer to: Revisiting the Zone and What's New in the Zone Vaccines In previous newsletters I have discussed how new vaccines are massively promoted without proof of safety or consideration of long-term consequences. You can find more information at the following links: Malpractice The high cost of malpractice insurance in Illinois forced me to stop delivering babies. Only doctors in groups that carry high patient loads and perform other surgical procedures are able to pay these high premiums for obstetrical coverage. The high rates of Cesarean section are partially due to doctors thinking that they could defend themselves better in a lawsuit if they performed a Cesarean. Similarly, doctors order costly additional tests and procedures that they may feel are not really necessary, in order to protect themselves in the event of a malpractice suit.
The above examples of merchandising and special interests in the health care industry give you an idea of the wealthy and powerful forces that obstruct us when we try to improve the quality or decrease the costs of health care via alternative methods, such as prevention. It is possible for Americans to improve our own health. But, we must take personal responsibility for creating our own good health through better nutrition, adequate exercise, and positive life style choices. No government or insurance company can do this for us. If the new law will require all Americans to carry health insurance, there should be rewards granted to those who remain healthy due to their own good efforts. One example would be a discounted premium to those who stay healthy and don't over-utilize the system. Or what about a subsidy for women who commit to exclusively breastfeed their babies? No doubt, if we create new entitlements without requirements for personal responsibility, the system will eventually collapse, face bankruptcy, and drag down the rest of the economy with it. FLU UPDATE NOVEMBER 2009
So far the number of flu like cases in my practice has increased moderately from previous years. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, weakness, achiness, and abdominal complaints. The number and severity of symptoms vary widely from person to person. The incubation period is 24-72 hours. The duration of symptoms ranges from 5-21 days with an average of 7-10 days. Some of the younger children with preexisting asthma are experiencing prolonged and aggravated coughing. Many adults have developed a prolonged cough with bronchial irritation. Fortunately, thus far, there have been no serious complications. The November 4, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association published statistics about complications and death from H1N1 influenza in Mexico, Canada, and California. In adults, factors that contribute to hospitalization are obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, gastroesophageal reflux, smoking, alcohol abuse, and immunosuppression states. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders like cerebral palsy, especially with pulmonary problems, are at a higher risk. Also severe asthma and immunosuppression states are risk factors in children. Deaths occurred as a result of severe pneumonia and resulting organ failure. For more information about H1N1 influenza view my October 2009 newsletter at: Swine Flu Update The opinions expressed in this newsletter are based upon information available at the time of publication. These opinions are designed to stimulate discussion and thought regarding current health topics. They are not designed to substitute for a personal consultation with a physician who is familiar with your unique medical history. Staff | Newsletters | Vitamins & Stuff | Recommended Reading | Links | Downloads George B. Elvove, M.D., P.C. © 2009, George B. Elvove, M.D., P.C. |