Emergency Room Doc, James Koss, On American Healthcare's Impact On The Poor

I am a recently retired ER doctor with 15 state licenses.  I worked all over the US.  

Yes you (perhaps) and I are well covered and cared for but what I experienced was poor, under or no care for a large number of decent working poor.

If you need stories of those who died, had strokes or exacerbated uncontrolled diseases which in a decent and fair humane medical care system would have been prevented, but not in our  profit oriented system.  You may not believe this but I am the witness.  

I CAN SUPPLY THEM.

Did you know the US is rated as 29th in the world in quality of across the board health care?  

France and Japan vie for number one and two?

Even Malta exceeds us.  

That US inner city neonatal (new born) infant death rates rival Bangla Desh?
That all industrialized nations except our US have Universal Health Care?
That they all have better health statistics?

They all pay so much less per capita for that superior care than we do?

Health Care costs cause over 50% of US bankruptcies?

That our superior health care is distributed basically only to the wealthy, those covered by union guarantees, and the self insured?

That even some of these plans fail to provide good coverage at an affordable price, thus the US  bankruptcies?

The myth of free coverage the poor is false.  An ER is only obligated to treat the presenting disease, not the other chronic under treated problems.  Those are ignored as the programs "to help" the uninsured are limited to what is wrong right now only.

No more will be paid for.  

So if you break you leg it will be treated til healed but  your blood pressure and diabetes is legally ignored., until you have  a stroke or get so ill you must be hospitalized.  Then you can be cared for, after the fact, because now it is the presenting problem!

This actually costs the society more than free preventative care before the tragedy.

I know this may offend your opinions but often times facts do.

It is time to re-examen your knowledge base.

If you are a concerned citizen I am sure you will.

J. Koss, MD FAAEM