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A Chiropractor's View On Health Care Reform
Dr. Mark Lewis, DC Speech at Tea Party Event -- Lakewood Ranch Florida June 28th 2009 Hello, my name is Dr. Mark Lewis. I am a Chiropractic Physician and Owner of HealthSource Chiropractic Clinic on State Road 70 in Bradenton. I am not a paid speaker for a healthcare interest group, political organization or corporation. I am here to express my deep concerns for the proposed healthcare reform as a physician, father and citizen. Much of the debate in Washington fails to address the underlying causes of our healthcare crisis and this lack of political leadership threatens to bankrupt our nation. Let’s talk about healthcare A recent CNN Poll stated that at least 8 out of 10 Americans are happy with the quality of healthcare and their insurance. However, when asked about the cost of healthcare, 75% of Americans feel that they pay too much. This feeling is shared by many businesses owners, with healthcare costs becoming one of the fastest growing drains on profitability. I read that 23% of American companies recently cut 401K benefit -- is healthcare next? What are we to do when all we can afford is a plan with a $5000 dollar deductible and are forced to pay ever rising premiums? What I see in my practice is that patients are forced to put off much needed care until their condition becomes unbearable and more costly to treat. I find that it’s easier to put out the small fires, instead of a raging inferno. Currently we spend 2.2 trillion annually on healthcare or 16 cents on every dollar. This is $7,400 per person, which is more than double that paid by any other country in the world. Our national health expenditures are rising four times faster than inflation and are expected to skyrocket as baby-boomers age. Complicating matters even further, we don’t have the healthcare professionals needed to meet future demands. Medical and nursing schools are not graduating even close to the numbers needed to meet current and future requirements. The credit crisis has forced hospitals to cut support staff and do more with less to contain costs. We must become more efficient in the delivery of healthcare in this country. As we learned in Massachusetts, having the government take over a profit-driven and highly inflationary system without making necessary changes to improve efficiency is a disaster and will bankrupt our nation!!! So why do we spend so much on healthcare in America? Healthcare in this country has nothing to do with “Health,” rather it is a profit-driven system of “Sick” care serving corporate executive and shareholders at the expense of patients and ethical hard working doctors. Insurance companies are also wielding greater influence over medical decision making that ever before, resulting in an increase in paperwork and a decline in positive outcomes. Life long symptom management of disease is far more profitable for the pharmaceutical industry than focusing on prevention and comprehensive wellness care. If you have a toothache and mask the pain with medication, you still have a rotting tooth. Your choices are to either deal with the problem today or wait until it is too far gone and has to be pulled. As a chiropractor I choose to put out the fire when it is still small using conservative care and patient education. There has been much talk of the evils of rationed care and socialized medicine. Well, let me tell you that your care is already being rationed by the Insurance industry. A number of anti-competitive barriers have been erected that only serve to limit patient access to more cost effective health care options – like chiropractic. As far back as 1992, a review of 22 scientific studies concluded that: “By every test of cost and effectiveness, the general weight of evidence shows chiropractic to provide important therapeutic benefit at economical costs.” Yet in my practice, I see many patients that are regularly allowed an insufficient number of visits or modalities to appropriately address their problem. Many lab tests that use to identify early signs of disease are rarely covered, which ultimately steers patients away from preventative care and into our current high-cost system of sick care. How many times have you heard that Aunt Sally has a number of test run, but they couldn’t find anything and sent her home? Often, the doctors were limited by the insurance company to do what was appropriate and didn’t have enough data to make a diagnosis. The end result is Aunt Sally’s condition was allowed to get much worse and then requires expensive drug therapy, a hospital stay and possibly surgery. This practices only drive up the cost of care and results in higher insurance premiums and deductible. Good insurance has nothing to do with good healthcare. Many claim that they don’t want socialized medicine, yet it’s already here and is called Medicare. For my patients, Medicare may pay for the adjustment, but not the exam and x-rays required to make a diagnosis. The Medicare patient usually has to pay out of pocket for these services, as their secondary or supplemental usually has a high deductible that has to be met first. This is an anti-competitive barrier to care that limits patient choice. I am fortunate that many of my patients value the care they receive in my office and gladly pay for non covered services. I can only hope that our elected officials help to dismantle these barriers that limit patient choice. I am continually amazed that we allow this system to continue. However, the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies are some of the most powerful in the nation; generously contribute to members of both parties. This influences legislation and the actions of government agencies like the FDA, perpetuating a system that is favorable to corporations and not patients, while our healthcare costs continue to rise. The pharmaceutical industry also regularly uses financial pressure on researchers, medical journals and the mainstream media to report positive outcomes and bury negative results. When was the last time you counted the number of drug ads on TV, you know, the ones that have longer disclaimers than content!!! America is the only country other than New Zealand that allows this kind of advertising. The pharmaceutical industry is among the most profitable in the world. Last year alone the ten top companies earned a staggering 230 billion, more than the GDP of many small nations. These companies spend 33% of those earnings on marketing and only 13% on research and development. This business strategy has proven to be extremely successful, since America consumes over 50% of the drugs produces, yet we are less than 5% of the World population. Yes we have a drug habit and pay 30%-40% more for our fix at home than others pay abroad. Many Americans now take 3 or more medications daily, with usage increasing 89% since 2000. What kind of message do we send to our children when we tell them to SAY NO to DRUGS, but regularly act as if relief to our symptoms is only a swallow away!!! Many drugs designed to manage the symptoms of disease, tend to cause the same problem they were designed to prevent. The late Tim Russert is a perfect example. He was on a number of medications to control his blood pressure and cholesterol to prevent a heart attack. He then died from? -- A Massive Heart Attack. Many of these drugs were created for a short-term use and function poorly as a long term treatment of chronic disease. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the fourth leading cause of death in the US is from FDA approved drugs and these numbers continue to rise. Part of the problem may be drug interactions and overworked hospital staff. Despite a 10 year effort to curb medical errors, they continue to plague the healthcare system. Many feel that errors are much higher than reported as there is still no centralized tracking system. After all that we spend on Healthcare, are we any Healthier? The average American lives 78 years. This number has dropped from 11th Place two decades ago to 42nd compared to other nations. One in four Americans now has heart disease and one in three has high blood pressure, with cardiovascular disease continues to be our #1 killer. The incidence of cancer is expected to increase by 45% over the next 20, as our nation ages and further add to the overall cost of healthcare. Obesity has now overtaken being simply being overweight, with 34% of Americans considered obese and another 33% as overweight. This is 2/3rds of our country. 23 million children are overweight and obese, with many being diagnosed with adult onset diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. This may be the first generation not to outlive their parents. Many feel that we are winning the war on terror, but loosing the battle of the bulge. At a recent Institute of Medicine summit in Washington, Senator Tom Harkin said: “It’s not enough to talk about how to extend insurance coverage. It makes no sense to try and figure out how to pay for a system that is broken and unsustainable. If we pass healthcare reform without infrastructure for health, wellness and prevention, we will have failed America.” I take a comprehensive approach to treating patients. As a chiropractor, I specialize in treating neck, back and joint pain. I also incorporate clinical nutrition and dietary recommendations into my care plans and have had much success in treating patients with digestive problems, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, gout, thyroid problems and more. As a primary care physician, I have a duty to identify a disease process early and either treat or refer to the appropriate specialist. There is much that can be done for a patient suffering from chronic illness by simply changing their diet, recommending the appropriate supplements and empowering patients to make the proper lifestyle choices. I have yet to identify a deficiency in Lipitor, but often see patients deficient in B-Vitamins, Minerals, and the body’s basic building blocks. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine said, “Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.” We must take personal responsibility for our own health and that of our families. This means that we must make better choices such as: Exercising regularly at least 3-4 times per week; limiting our intake of fried foods, processed foods, white flour and sugar; eating 6-8 servings of fresh vegetables and fruit daily; taking supplements; drinking at least 2 liters of pure water daily. Unfortunately our culture makes this extremely difficult and much of the work has to be done by the patient in between office visits. Many of us take better care of our cars that we do our own bodies and spines. Let us all commit to making healthier choices as a nation, which costs us very little. Let us demand that our officials craft a plan that serves the people rather the corporate bank account, ensuring efficiency and cost effective delivery of true Health Care. Let us create an environment that lets physicians to be doctors again. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a patriot, war hero and signer of the declaration of independence wrote over 250 years ago: “Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize itself into an undercover dictatorship. To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others…are un-American and despotic. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Dr. Mark Lewis, D.C. lives in Bradenton Florida and sees chiropractic patients in Lakewood Ranch. He believes that health is a choice. Local patients can reach him at 941-755-WELL. |
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