"We Are All Patients," says Kim McAlister of Emergiblog

Continued from Part One, more discussion, prepared thoughts, and reactions from the bloggers in attendance at the event, "Putting Patients First" as hosted by Dr. Val, CEO of Better Health, LLC.

Dr. Wes posted his prepared opening comments of which these statements make me personally want to cheer - “The honest truth is, if I could help the uninsured, and unemployed and chronically ill while preserving my relationship with you – I would. If I could solve these problems while preserving my love for medicine – and the devotion of my colleagues, I would. Fortunately, I believe we can."

“But we can’t do that and continue to fund the gravy train. And that gravy train is the multi-billion dollar health insurance industry with executives who made over $24M annually in 2007, the $800B pharmaceutical industry with executive compensations of over 25 million dollars the same year, the over $24 billion spent in one year in our country on new hospital construction, the nearly half a billion dollars in political campaign contributions from health care special interests a single year (2008), and the 55-80% increase in malpractice insurance premiums that your doctors have paid over the past 5 years.”

...A final member of the Twitter Gallery was Kerri Morrone Sparling of "Six Until Me" whose round-up goes directly to the heart of the discussion: Government Health Care. Her readers provide excellent commentary on the issue, especially those who have lived in the US and elsewhere.

Kim of "Emergiblog", never shy to say she is definitely NOT for a single-player plan run by the government, ended her summary making an excellent point - “I’ll say one thing: no matter what we believe, why we believe it or what our role is in the health care system, it is a conversation rife with strong opinions and passionate debate. And, in the end, because we are all patients in one form or another at some point in our lives, the conversation is about us. So, when you hear the phrase ‘putting patients first,’ think of it as ‘putting me first.’ That may help you get a foothold in the morass of information that is the health care debate. It worked for me.”

Finally, from one Canadian I respect comes - “Yes America! I Like My Healthcare.”

Please read and consider answering the questions posed at the end of this article regarding your health care.

Read this post in its entirety:

Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, Part Two