Are Doctors to Blame for its Unavailability?July 2007
As the calls for more
affordable health insurance nationwide grow louder and louder, one professional believes that healthcare reform must start with doctors and nurses. But, is it fair to blame the lack of affordable medical coverage in America on medical professionals?
According to an article posted by Reuters, "Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stepped into the debate over health care reform with a call for changing the way doctors, nurses, veterinarians, pharmacists and dentists are educated."
Gerberding's comments are in response to Pricewaterhouse Cooper's Health Research Institute, who reported last week that the United States will be short 1 million nurses and 24,000 doctors by 2020. In theory, this could lead to a new problem in our healthcare system - one based not so much on an absence of affordable health insurance, but on an absence of medical professionals to take care of us.
But is it fair to blame the current healthcare situation on doctors and nurses? It's true that too much of the money we spend on healthcare - a whopping $532 billion by the way - is spent on treating disease instead of preventing it, and on end-of-life care instead of "helping people lead healthier lives." But, if doctors and nurses don't see patients until they've become seriously ill, how can they treat disease
before it strikes?
In terms of making affordable health insurance a reality for all Americans most people believe we ought to start with our national healthcare system, particularly in light of the fact that we are the only industrialized nation in the world who doesn't have an organized plan.
By making
medical coverage more affordable to average consumers, life-saving checkups that can prevent or stop disease before it becomes life-threatening will be more feasible.
Facts on:
Affordable Health Insurance
Did you know...
The U.S. will be short 1 million nurses and 24,000 doctors by 2020?
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Perhaps it's true that we need more doctors, nurses, dentists and veterinarians. But, until our medical coverage system is amended their hands are tied; there's little they can do to help someone they never see.
Hopefully, since healthcare is on the forefront of upcoming elections, change will be on the horizon. Until then the average consumer is advised to shop around aggressively, especially online, for affordable medical coverage, and to get those checkups that can make such a big difference.
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