April 12, 2005

(Editor's note: This is an article that originally appeared elsewhere, revised to bring it up to date.)

The phony "Patient Bill of Rights" and new "HIPPA" regulations gives me a perfect reason to write this section. Packed with the loads of expected lies and land mines, it is another step toward total socialized medicine in this country. This has the potential to destroy health insurance completely or drive up the price of what might survive until no employers will be able to offer it. Once that happens, our dear nanny state will tisk-tisk and benevolently take over the whole shebang while saying, "...see, the 'free market' doesn't work."

Sometimes, with all the discussion of the Constitution and the Amendments, I think we lose sight of the greater picture. It's been said before, but nowhere is this more true than with our health. Each person OWNS their body. Each person must be ultimately responsible for what they do to it and the decisions they make that affect their body and health. All of those who suffer with chronic and debilitating disease, in spite of massive and vastly expensive health care, one way or another testify to this ultimate situation. If you don't take care of your own body, in the long run nobody else can.

Since this is as true as the natural law of gravity, it is amazing that the socialists and the do-gooders have managed to fool so many people into believing that they can be saved from themselves, or more accurately, that they can save YOU from YOURSELF if they just pass enough laws and ban enough things. The ever increasing clamor for health care and organ transplants would appear to disprove that, of course, but few seem to see it that way. So we all continue to pay through the nose for the choices and lifestyles of others.

When I read about people who are suing a doctor or a health plan because of a denied treatment or test that cost the health or life of someone, I wonder where their heads were. If they knew what needed to be done and allowed an insurance company decision to prevent it, they are beyond stupid. If you knew there was something that would save or significantly improve your life, would you let somebody else make the decision to use it or not?

If you don't know, how would you let the pronouncement of a single (or several) doctor or insurance case manager be the deciding factor? Why wouldn't you dig into it, do some real research and find out as much as possible for yourself what the options are? We seem to be able to do that with many other things in life, but too many people blindly trust the "experts" and don't bother to think for themselves when it comes to their health.

Often, when I talk about this, folks try to excuse this behavior by saying they "can't afford it". Funny how they managed to "afford" a house, a nice car, a wall sized television, trips to Las Vegas, etc. Some people truly can't afford any of it, of course, but they can and should be helped by private charity and do all they are able to help themselves as well.

Most people have liberty all mixed up with license. Then, when their bad habits and poor choices come home to roost, they want someone else to be responsible and pay the bills. It just doesn't work that way forever, and no amount of legislation can make it so.

The bottom line is that we can't prevent people from making bad decisions, or engaging in dangerous behavior. We can't protect anyone but ourselves and we do nobody any favors when we try. The theft of liberty and personal responsibility are truly the basic problem here, with the HMO and insurance legislation only symptoms. We'd all be better off if we concentrated on the disease rather than the results of it.

Why do we put up with it? What can we do about it? Please share your experience. What can we do?

Please send your feedback and let me know if you've found other good sources for information on traditional or alternative health care that is backed with clinical trials and solid science. No snake oil, please.

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Free State Project - What is going on?

A Gift For Granny

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The Meltdown of Western Medicine part 1

The High Cost of Medicine part 2

Don't look now (is it already too late?) Part 3

Take Charge To Get The Best From Your Health Care Providers