2012 Health Care Predictions: Did They Come True?

Looking at Facebook this morning, the "See Your Memories" pops up first on my wall.  Back in 2012 I posted an article titled: 15 Reasons Why the Obamacare Decision Is A Mind Blowing Disaster for America by Michael Snyder.  Here is the LINK.

I thought it would be interesting to reread it and see where we have come 4 years later.   This is my view of the world from my small city in Upstate New York, so let's see what kind of opinion I have formed since then.

First of all I did a quick search to see how many Americans are still uninsured.  A 2014 report showed that 9 million more people were able to obtain insurance.  There are still 33 million who do not have insurance which is about 10.4% of the population.  I didn't look for details as to why.  I was just interested in the numbers.

Here's my opinion of #1 - 15:

#1 - I don't think we've been forced by law to buy anything else other than insurance at this time.

#2 - Yes I agree, this law puts the government too much into our lives.  Along with ridiculous truancy laws where CPS can investigate home schooling families, and now California is forcing all children to receive vaccines.  The false measles scare of last year has set a dangerous precedent.

#3- The IRS is placing fines on people.

#4- I don't know much about the tax increases, but many different industries are being taxed in new ways and employers have to take more out of employee's paychecks.

#5 - Talking to folks in my office, the changes in out of pocket costs are forcing people to think twice and skip certain health care items such as X-rays, MRI's  injections, and prescription drugs. I don't know if that's fair or not, but the cost of an MRI should have come down over the years.  Typical things we buy for our household keep going down in price such as cameras, televisions, and even computers, but it's just the opposite in health. care.  And the prices are hidden from the average health care consumer.  Most people don't shop around for health care.  They think they must use their insurance policy and accept whatever the policy offers.  We used to think hospitals and insurance had our best interests at heart.  Here is a link on lifehacker that offers advice on how to figure out health care costs.

#6 - Yes, the paper work requirement is out of control.

#7- Yes, health care premiums are soaring.  I know folks who  used to pay for their own and have been forced into Medicaid.  The pre-Obamacare premiums were affordable, now they are not.  And less care is covered in the new policies.

#8- I believe small businesses won't be able to hire new workers and the current workers will have to work harder due to staff shortages, with more taxes being taken out of their gross pay.

#9-  A lot of doctors in our small town have left.  We now have to drive to Rochester and Syracuse for specialists. I feel bad for the folks who don't have transportation and also the folks who lose work time/ pay when going to these appointments.

#10- I don't know about doctor-owned hospitals and how they are faring, but nearly every hospital has merged with another.  Just like big government and big banks, we have big hospitals which means less customer service for the individual and more assembly line health care.  You are now a number.

#11 -  We already know the federal government is growing.

#12- In my small city, people have to wait for appointments.  They are having trouble finding participating doctors, especially if they have Medicaid.  You may see different nurse practitioners and no one really has a personal relationship with you so you feel as if you're starting from scratch each time you see a doctor, PA, or NP.  If you don't see a doctor often enough, you are no longer invited back to that practice.

#13 - One change talked about by folks is that children are being seen while their parents are barred from being present.  Another change which may not be a result of Obamacare is the drastic reduction in pain meds for folks without working with them on an individual basis to make an easier transition.  Doctors take a critical look at your own differing opinion if you question vaccines, or doctors think you a drug seeking, or if you refuse to take certain drugs.

#14 -   We already know Medicaid has grown.

#15 - We already know the debt is growing.

So, how well have these prediction come true?

My biggest beef is that doctors don't have time to teach people how to reclaim their health.  They only have time to diagnose and write prescriptions.  I've also seen a great increase in out of pocket costs for physical therapy.  I think it's a tough industry because people need to go multiple times a week for physical therapy and they drop out of care because they can't take time off work or balance it with family responsibilities. Physical therapy is very crucial and it is out of reach for various reasons typically time and money.

People tell me all the time they eat healthy diets.  I know they do not. They still have serious deficiencies  and chalk it up to aging or stress.  Their over the counter medicines are causing high blood pressure, intestinal issues, and joint damage.  The viscous cycle continues.  (Folks can prove me wrong by using The Low Carb Success Journal).

There is no procedure, test, or drug that will improve your health.  The New England Journal of Medicine admits only nutrition can improve heart conditions.  Procedures, tests, and drugs buy you time.  Take the time to take care of yourself.

Get adjusted.  Saturate your cells with nutrition.

Ask me about the 4 Step Formula to restore health.  It is all natural and within your reach.

Being Human Makes You Sick. (Is Change Possible? or The Huge Need for Patience!)

Tongue in cheek here, no one listens to me until they have a crisis or someone else gives them the same information I've been touting for years.

When answers are clearly evident, people don't jump on them.  This is because it requires personal change, change of habits, giving up something they like, such as an unhealthy food.

I'm the same way.  I wouldn't take advice until I really was tired of suffering.  I let a lot of  time pass before admitting I was failing at something before I would actually reverse course.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.  We've all been there and done that.

We've all followed bad health trends.  Going low fat is one example.  It's still a hard belief to break.  The soy craze.....yikes.  Gluten free is another one.  It took me years to really try a low carb diet and let me tell you, it was a fantastic and welcomed change.  Changing my supplements from some very fancy sounding products that were actually synthetic and switching to whole food concentrates has given me huge benefits.  Yes, I was stuck in my ways.  Who wants to try something new when you hear of all the snake oil sales stories out there?

In some instances I gave up and turned to God after realizing I had no answers when it came to relationships.  The best advice I refused to follow was  to let go and let God and truly let faith guide you.  That's when I decided to become almost insanely humble with certain people.  I even began to pray for people I didn't want to pray for.....

From a health care perspective, we do have a lot of bad habits, based on poor knowledge, and very bad health reporting in the media.  That is beginning to change.  Medicine can't change our behaviors.  In fact, some medical options allow us to stay in a bad way.  People believe there are no other options.  I understand limitation of matter, and some things can't be perfectly healed.  But I am from the mind-set that we can always improve. Our genetics are not set in stone.  But we have to do a lot of changing.

There are times I really hate watching people digging their own hole and getting buried when they can't toss the dirt out anymore.  I see it happening.  You see it happening.
Being human sure teaches us to be patient and forgiving.


This reminds me of a past blog post I wrote about the book, Change or Die.

Listen to Your Head; Your Heart Will Follow

How do people change? I've heard it only happens when they really want to. Everyone wants to improve something in their lives. They spend years thinking about it. The only problem is thinking is not the same thing as doing. Most actions we take each day are habit. They are so automatic that very little thought is needed to accomplish them. Often our emotions keep us glued to where we are in life especially fear or anger.

Certain emotions can hide behind ambivalence or avoidance, as well.

Why do people stay the same? Are emotions involved? Some would say no, especially Dr. Edward Miller of John Hopkins University. Studies show 90% of heart by-pass patients cannot change their lifestyle habits, even though they already flirted with death. Fear of death is not a motivator here.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/94/open_change-or-die.html

Success requires ignoring your emotions and getting involved in a series of action steps until a new habit is formed. This is a time to listen to your head instead of your heart. If you want to replace a behavior, make an unemotional contract with yourself, follow through with it and see your don't have a different emotion accompanying the result.

Also check out this article I wrote for the Citizen about how change can work.

Quality of Life without insurance

I ran into a former practice member while on a shopping outing.  I hadn't seen this person in nearly 10 years.  Her insurance would not pay for her care and she made the decision to discontinue care.  Now, insurance only pays for short term care as if all pain magically goes away.  But we're human and we know the body needs a lot of TLC.

While chiropractic is not a treatment for pain, it is an approach to open up pathways in the spine so the nerves can regulate body functions, especially healing.  In today's real world, most people have chronic pain and benefit from chiropractic even though their pain remains, it is usually at a lesser level and allows them more function.  Most people would rather continue chiropractic care as a maintenance routine rather than drop it altogether, so there are wellness approaches where chiropractic can be made more affordable.

This person told me when she stopped coming she had "gone back to the pills."  She knew it was a destructive path.  It took her  a while to get back down to a low dose.  It's an easy trip to take, I suppose.  We all think we can keep things in control and pain meds shouldn't be a big deal.  "I can cut back when I need to."  But sadly, most people lose their grip and don't truly have the control they imagined.

My former practice member told me she was grateful for the advice I had given her.  She said exercise has been her salvation.  She exercises five days a week (in her 70's).  She was very positive and seeing her out of the blue after all this time was very uplifting for me.

I do want my practice members and future practice members to know there is quality of life without insurance.  Since insurance bureaucrats have no desire to understand the value of prevention, and especially the benefits of subluxation correction, there's no point in wasting time trying to negotiate with them.  Your life is more important than that.

Your efforts matter. Your own time investment is the most important health practice.  Please be wary of the chemical promises of pharmaceuticals.  It's your life.  Learn as much as you can about the options available.  And don't forget about the value of subluxation correction.

Are You Held Hostage by Pills?

Medical doctors know how to put people on pills.  How many know how to get you off pills?  Consider the current heroin problem?

A number of years ago, I sent a practice member to a psychiatrist who specializes in getting people off their medications.  My practice member was haunted by klonopin after years and years of taking it. This person was held hostage by pills.

My practice member told me this psychiatrist laid all the cards on the table and spoke of a painful truth.  My practice member was given hope, but it  required hard, hard work.  No one should do this alone and I will recommend this medical doctor to anyone who asks.

I was offered free anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs when I hit a low point in my life.  I was a therapist in a mental health office and you could say I hit the lottery.  We had a major sample cabinet.  And now 20 years later, I admit I helped people with financial constraints obtain these medications through charity programs directly from the pharmaceuticals.  It was a great marketing play back in the days when I believed I was helping people.

I said, "No, thank you," to my chance to reach into the sample cabinet as if it was a grab bag game at a Christmas party.