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NHS Spends £12,000 on Private Medical Care for Hospital Staff
The government run National Health Service in Britain is now sending its own hospital staff for private medical care. (Via Ed Morrissey)The money was used to bring in physiotherapists to help workers recover from muscular-skeletal injuries at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
Bosses said it prevented them from leapfrogging NHS patients and enabled them to return to work more quickly.
However, the private treatment, which amounted to £12,116 for 271 appointments over the past year, was described by critics as “shocking”.
Mark Wallace of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Their staff should have to wait like everybody else.
Well, the hospital staff are NOT stupid. They desired timely care which with the NHS and all socialized medicine schemes does NOT happen.
Britain has been struggling with their National Health Service for years and dentistry is slowly evolving into a private system.
America’s private health care system has plenty of detractors but send Americans to Canada or Britain for a while and they will see a stark contrast between accessible care and rationed care.
Technorati Tags: NHS, Socialized Medicine
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Barack Obama Flipping on Single-Payer Health Care?
Barack Obama today in Albuquerque answering questions on health careThis is what Barack Obama said in 2003:
Obama: “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer [universal] health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world…cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. … A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. … [A]s all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, we have to take back the House.†(Laura Meckler, “Let’s Go To The Video,†The Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire†Blog, www.blogs.wsj.com, 1/22/08)
But, today as in the video above says something different:
Q: Why not a single-payer? Why not get the corporate battling and the lobbyists out of the way, and just go to a single-payer?
A: Well, I’ve said this before. If I were designing a system from scratch, then I’d probably set up a single-payer system. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the terminology: Single-payer basically means that you’ve got one government funded program. It doesn’t have to be government run. But it’s government funded. Medicare would be an example of a single-payer system, if everybody was in Medicare.
But the problem is we’re not starting from scratch. We’ve got a system in which most people have become accustomed to getting their health insurance through their employer. And for us to immediately transition from that, and given that a lot of people work for insurance companies, a lot people work for HMOs. You’ve got a whole system of institutions that have been set up. Making that transition in a rapid way I think would be very difficult. And people don’t have time to wait. They need relief now. So my attitude is let’s build up the system we got, let’s make it more efficient, we may be over time – as we make the system more efficient and everybody’s cover – decide that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively.
Flap is now confused. Is Barack Obama for single-payer government funded/managed health care for everyone or not?
John McCain does not favor a government funded and/or managed system.
What about Barack Obama? What does “over time” mean?
Again, Obama demonstrates that his words do not matter – nor are they consistent.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama
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Barack Obama Watch: Channeling Hillary’s Health Care Plan?
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., hugs Pamela Cash-Roper after she spoke at his economy speech, Monday, June 9, 2008, at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. Roper, a lifelong Republican, told the crowd that she and her husband are struggling because of medical problems, losing their jobs and the high price of gas and prescription drugs.
Barack Obama has been accused of flipping on his Iran policy and now is he adopting Hillary Clinton’s health care plan with Elizabeth Edwards as the spokeswoman?
Obama’s speech in Raleigh launching his economy tour is underway, and towards the end, during a discussion of health care, he drops a surprise aside that wasn’t in the speech’s prepared remarks:
“By the way, I’m going to be partnering with Elizabeth Edwards, we’re going to be figuring all this out.”
As you recall, Elizabeth Edwards was critical of Obama’s plan a few months ago.
Edwards said she believed Clinton’s health-care plan was more inclusive than that of Obama’s.
“You need that universality in order to get the cost savings. … I just have more confidence in Sen. Clinton’s policy than Sen. Obama’s on this particular issue,” she said.
So, who is flipping here?
1. Barack Obama
2. Elizabeth Edwards
3. All of the above
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Fruit Smoothies Can ROT Your Teeth
It was claimed last week that the fruit drinks could be twice as healthy as first thought.
But dentists warn that the beneficial effects of boosting consumption of fruit are likely to be far outweighed by damage the drinks cause to teeth.
They warn that the high levels of sugar in the drinks can promote decay without good dental hygiene.Flap has been amazed at the lack of educational awareness of deleterious effects of sugar and citric acid on the teeth of children AND adults. Yet, folks continue to distribute these tooth rotting drinks and warrant them as healthy.
Amazing.
Be true to your teeth (watch the sugar, practice good dental hygiene, see the dentist) or they will be FALSE to you.
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Methamphetamine Watch: The U.S. Multilateral Conference Against Methamphetamine
From the Unnecessary Epidemic, The Oregonian
Tomorrow the United States Attorney General and United States Drug Czar will be hosting an important anti-meth conference in America’s heartland.
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and John Walters, the U.S. Drug Czar, will host high-ranking officials from the world’s largest producing and some of the principal consuming nations of methamphetamine and meth precursor chemicals in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, May 7. For the first time, leaders from Mexico, Canada, China, India, and Germany will join federal, state, and local law enforcement professionals from throughout the United States to participate in the National Methamphetamine Chemicals Initiative (NMCI) conference, an initiative of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Significant progress has been made against domestic methamphetamine production, trafficking and use over the last several years. Recent changes in the price and purity of meth indicate significant disruptions in the market for the drug. From January to December of 2007, the price per pure gram of meth increased 84 percent, from $152.39 to $280.06, while purity during the same time period decreased 26 percent. Results from workplace drug screenings conducted in 2007 show a more than 50 percent decline in the number of people testing positive for methamphetamine over the past two years.
But major challenges remain, particularly in the international arena. Many nations lack significant controls to prevent chemical diversion and have yet to comply with their international obligations, although progress has been made in some others. Mexico, for example, has banned all imports of methamphetamine precursors. Attorney General Mukasey and the representatives from Mexico, China, Canada and Germany will sign a Joint Statement on Countering the Diversion of Precursor Chemicals, Synthetic Drugs, and Controlled Pharmaceuticals, calling on all nations to take needed steps to combat this problem and to intensify international cooperation against methamphetamine.
The United States must make it clear to our allies that either they get a hold on the export of their methamphetamine precursor chemicals or we will interdict their exports and/or sanction their chemical trading with the United States.
To be blunt – it is time for Mexico and other countries to get their act together or the United States will do if for them.
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Flap @ California Dental Association Meeting May 3, 2008
Flap arrived at the Anaheim Hilton and the California Dental Association Convention in record time this morning. The freeways were remarkably clear and the speeding went well @ 75-85.
Parking in the main lot was easy and smooth. I suspect most everyone will sleep in and crush the place around 10 or so. But, who knows? Maybe the staff and dentists came out yesterday?
Flap’s complete CDA photo stream on Flickr is here – updated throughout the day.
My next course will be at 10 AM.
The class is Crystal Methamphetamine: Your Teeth, Your Health, Your Life presented by Mitchell A. Goodis, D.D.S.
His website is here: mitchtv.net
And, here is part one of his video series on You Tube:
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=uyS6r7G5dOo[/youtube]
Meth mouth is real and this is what it looks like. This group of videos is currently used in many schools, police departments, and county support agencies.
THESE PEOPLE ARE REAL. Most came to our dental office to have teeth extracted, mostly due to use of Crystal Meth. Let’s work together to keep our kids off this devastating and brutal drug.
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John McCain Watch: Health Care TV Ad – “Action”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6I61-zIXOE&eurl=http://thepage.time.com/2008/04/29/mccain-launches-new-tv-ad-on-health-care/[/youtube]
John McCain talks about his health care reforms in a 60 second TV ad
With all of the hubbub of Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club yesterday, John McCain’s first health care televison ad has almost slipped through the cracks.
What does McCain say?
Nothing glowing but promotes a $5,000 family tax credit to purchase health insurance.
Hillary and Obama have grand sounding health care reform plans that promise the world but mandate insurance and government redistribution to provide the care.
Rudy Giuliani had more of a private sector health care reform plan that McCain should adopt. Or, is that what McCain is trying to say?
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The Hospitalist – Physicians Get a Life
The link to the video at the WSJ is hereAn interesting trend in medicine that Flap is also seeing in dentistry. The days of the solo family practitioner in medicine or dentistry are thankfully over.
• New Generation: Young doctors are pushing to balance work and family life.• Changing Medicine: Practices are adapting by creating new, more flexible schedules.• For Patients: Doctors may be less exhausted, but also less familiar.In dentistry there are more group practices with specialists “in house.” Patients will receive more coordinated multi-discipline care. Often, the junior associate dentists relieve senior partners of “on call” duty.
But, since dentistry is NOT hospital based, a group practice model to replace baby-boomer solo general practices may be slower to evolve.
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NHS Blog Doctor is Back
William Kelly, 43, extracted part of his own tooth, leaving a black stump. He plans to pull one more.
Dr. John Crippen from the NHS Blog Doctor has returned to the blogosphere.
Flap enjoys reading about this physician’s trials and tribulations while he fights the absurdity of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.
If Americans want an insight as to what HILLARY CARE or ARNOLD CARE would provide the United States, read Dr. Crippen’s blog.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: Deal with Democrats over Health Care?
Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gestures during a talk to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 2, 2007.
California Legislative Democrats have offered California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a deal over a reform health care proposal.
Democratic leaders on Monday agreed to key elements of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s health care reform plan, including mandatory insurance, according to a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.
Dan Weintraub at the Sacramento Bee’s Capital Alert has some of the details here.
The Democrats will unveil their plan officially tomorrow morning.
The Governor and Democrat dominated Legislature have only a few weeks to craft a compromise proposal to go before voters in November 2008. GOP members of the California Legislature have already rebuffed the Governor and will not support any tax increases to fund the Governor’s reform plan.
Even if Arnold and the Democrats agree to a plan, it will be an uphill battle for voter approval next year.
Stay tuned……
Previous:Arnold Care Watch: Lease the California State Lottery
Arnold Care Vs. Hillary Care 2.0: Arnold Care Covers Illegal Aliens
Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: California State Budget in Deficit as Much as $10 Billion
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hillary Care 2.0
Hillary Clinton Watch: Hillary Care 2.0
Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: California Governor Considers 2008 Health Care Initiative
California Restaurant Owners Support Tax Increase to Pay for Health Care
Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: Health Care FLOP
Michael Ramirez on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Radical Health Care Proposal
Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch: California Governor Schwarzenegger Proposes RADICAL Health Care Reforms
Technorati Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger
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