Chapter 3 The Big Questions What do we know for sure? If nothing else, I'm outspoken. Too much so, if you ask my wife of fifty years. Truth? I only know truth from my perspective. You have to decide what is true for you. I've lived over seventy years and in time realized that our health is our responsibility. No one else's. There are people who can help and information that can help, but ultimately the ball is in our court. We know for sure we can't always depend on doctors. It would be interesting to know the statistics of every disastrously wrong diagnosis that has led to serious problems, even death. I believe that these numbers are known but not published, and that more than a few doctors move around a lot because of an abnormally high rate of poor outcomes or patient deaths. But to be fair, I have to say there are many great people in the health care system-conscientious, caring, and skilled. It's a very stressful, and at times, difficult profession. Each doctor, nurse, and staff member holds someone's life in their hands. Unfortunately, mistakes, whether negligent or innocent, can be fatal. I have had more than my share of really skilled doctors, nurses, and good health care outcomes throughout my life. There have also been a few disastrous outcomes with those I love. But I want to make sure to give credit to the many qualified and good people out there. It's up to us to find them. FYI-In 2009 The World Health Organization (WHO) did a study of the health costs and actual results of every country that had a health system. Statistically, the U.S. was #1 in costs-by far-and #37 in outcomes
*. Here's their list.
1 1. France 2. Italy 3. San Marino 4. Andorra 5. Malta 6. Singapore 7. Spain 8. Oman 9. Austria 10. Japan 11. Norway 12. Portugal 13. Monaco 14. Greece 15. Iceland 16. Luxembourg 17. Netherlands 18. United Kingdom 19. Ireland 20. Switzerland 21. Belgium 22. Colombia 23. Sweden 24. Cyprus 25. Germany 26. Saudi Arabia 27. United Arab Emirates 28. Israel 29. Morocco 30. Canada 31. Finland 32. Australia 33. Chile 34. Denmark 35. Dominica 36. Costa Rica 37. USA* The above notwithstanding, we know that the cost of care and medication continues to rise. A long article in
Time magazine (2013)
2, titled "Bitter Pill," chronicled the egregious pricing in the hospital business. It appears that the malfeasance and bad judgment, in general, is top-down. I always snarkily say, "Guess the CEO really needs another house to go with his other three." If you think this is unfair, you should look up some of their yearly salaries. Moreover, non-profit hospitals don't exist, according to the article. Creative book-keeping can prove anything, and the markups on medical devices and drugs are scandalous. Big Pharma is just one more example of corporations that seem to lack evidence of social responsibility. Their number one job is selling us pills. And they're good at it. We know the U.S. pays significantly more than other countries for its top prescription drugs.
3 We know medications always involve risks, and our health problems must be assessed as worth those risks. There are many instances when people do need medication, and some are life-and-death matters, but I believe many prescribed drugs could be reduced or eliminated with appropriate lifestyle changes. Recently, the pharmaceutical industry has come under increasing scrutiny, mostly because of the opioid crisis. And that's not the only troubling fact. According to
US News and World Report (2016), over one hundred thousand of our citizens die every year due to the side effects of doctor-prescribed drugs taken as directed.
4 As if we need any more evidence to question the questionable practices of most of the pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, the FDA recently reported brand-name drug makers were refusing to let generic drug makers buy the samples necessary to reproduce the formulas for a generic version. The reason is obvious. To keep their monopolies intact, they put off or avoid competition. By delaying generic versions, they can continue to charge exorbitant prices for necessary drugs, costing Medicare and Medicaid over ten billion dollars in 2016.
5 It's no wonder that America can't afford health care. The prices continue to go up for no clear reason except profit. Apparently, anything deemed "too big to fail" is basically untouchable. But there are real world human consequences of the "money first" choices Big Pharma makes: the all-too-frequent stories of people having to ration or skip doses of insulin or other necessary medications because they can't afford them. Though Big Pharma likes to claim they are in the health care business, it seems they are far less in health care than in business. As of this writing, only two countries can advertise prescription drugs on television: New Zealand and the USA.
6 To me, the countries that don't allow it make dollars and sense. Advertising costs millions, and we all know who pays for it. We know that many of our health problems are caused by the conveniences that have crept into and become a part of our culture in the last fifty years. Food manipulation and production combined with sedentary lifestyles are a double-edged sword poised and ready to fall on those of us who don't take our health into our own hands. Living forever is not one of our options. But life can be better if we don't buy into the propaganda that makes us depend on those who don't have our best interests at heart.
What can we do? There are myriad personality types in this world. I'm mainly interested in two broad-based types: the ones who simply let things happen and the ones who try to make things happen. True, there are a lot of events we cannot control. But there are some we can control or at least influence, negatively or positively. T.S. Eliot once said, "If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you." The tendency toward good health is definitely related to individual DNA. Some people are born beautiful, some intelligent, and some win the sperm-and-egg lottery and are born rich. And some, through no apparent effort of their own, win the health lottery. They smoke and/or drink to excess, eat anything, never exercise, and still live a long and relatively healthy life. We all know people like this. Good for them. But some people are not so lucky. They don't win the lottery, and are destined to be ill and die relatively young. Cancer or another serious illness may be in their genetic cards. There may be a way to sidetrack or stop it, though some would strongly disagree. If you are vulnerable to certain illnesses, they can definitely be enabled. Most of us fit somewhere in between on the health spectrum-people with weaknesses but who can positively affect their health by how they live and the choices they make. It's unwise to depend on any lottery especially one that determines health.
Life will find your weaknesses
and exploit them. "Everybody has a good plan
until the first punch lands in
your face." - Mike Tyson "Life is short. Shorter for some
than others." Gus in Lonesome
Dove - Larry McMurtry Man has an unwritten covenant with nature. If we take care of nature, it takes care of us. It has provided for us for thousands of years. The human animal has adapted to changing circumstances and is amazingly flexible, chemically, mentally and physically. But one of the downfalls of man is arrogance-and greed. Both. We have this crazy, mistaken idea that we can better nature or control it to our purposes and beat it at its own game. I haven't found much evidence, outside of eliminating some deadly diseases, to support this. Every now and then man stumbles on something good that actually works. More on this later.
What do we have in common and what sets us apart? No matter who we are and what we believe, there is one thing we have in common, one truth that is indisputable-we are not going to live forever. That is a cosmic reality in which we have no vote or voice. Herb...
