17-03-2013, 09:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 17-03-2013, 10:03 PM by Peter Lemkin.)
Universal Neglect: A Failure to Protect Americans' Health
By Walter M. Brasch
Paul Krassner
I
received a letter from a friend this past week.
It was a letter he should never have had to write, yet did so out of desperation.
He is 80 years old, living off occasional writings and Social Security.
He has Medicare, but no dental insurance, and that's the problem. He needs dental work. A lot of dental work. $10,000 worth of dental work.
Many dental insurance plans for individuals are so expensive, and give relatively few benefits, that many dentists suggest the premiums just aren't worth it.
Without the dental work, my friend, like many people in the country, will suffer significant additional problems. Infection is one. Poor nutrition is another. There are even links to diabetes and thickening arteries.
So, my friend sent a letter to his friends asking for help. Not a lot of help. Maybe $100 from each of us.
Paul Krassner, my friend and colleague, is a giant in the world of social activism and journalism, praised by Groucho Marx and George Carlin, despised by the Nixonian establishment. He was a proud member of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters; with Abbie and Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Nancy Kurshan, he was a co-founder of the Youth International Party, better known as the Yippies. For almost five decades, he has been one of the nation's most influential editors, satirists, and columnists, his writings appearing in major newspapers and magazines.
Recently, two of those magazines that ran his column decided they could no longer run it. One editor said the column was spiked because the magazine was "shifting to a more business/retail-oriented editorial content." The editor of the other magazine, which had published his column for decades, said he had "great admiration for you and your writing," but decided another writer would now take over that column. That's just the way it is in journalism.
And so my friend has found his income not just slipping but in free-fall.
If hethe great writer, reporter, and editorwas the only one with this kind of problem, it still might be a story. But he isn't the only one. And that's why this story is so important.
Millions of Americansmost who have worked hard their entire lives, and now live on not a lot of moneycan't afford dental bills. So, they don't see the dentist.
More than 45 million American adults don't have dental insurance, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control. Medicare doesn't cover dental procedures; Medicaid, primarily for low-income individuals, only covers dental care for those under the age of 21. However, about one-fourth of all children have untreated tooth decay, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Our system of providing oral health care, particularly for children in this country, is ineffective, inefficient and it's extremely expensive and it really deprives children of decent care," says Dr. David Nash, professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Kentucky.
Among adults, according to the Foundation, lack of access to adequate dental care impacts low-income families, the elderly, and minorities more than the general population. Want to know why so many people in those categories don't have teeth? It's because the cost to extract a tooth is significantly less expensive than the cost to do a root canal to save it.
Many dentists allow payment plans, or will lower their fees for certain patients; many will not, and demand payment up front. Many dentists participate in an American Dental Association (ADA) program to provide low-cost or free dental care to children; but, dental and medical societies, unlike the American Bar Association, don't require pro bono community service work to maintain membership.
A number of community non-profit health programs exist, but there are far too few, with far too few financial resources. Patients can go to dental schools and have students, supervised by licensed dentists, work on their teeth. But, there are only 64 dental schools in 36 states, and many patients with dental problems can't afford the time or gas money to drive more than three or four hours to an appointment.
The new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which goes into effect next year, moved the United States closer to universal health care, already enjoyed by the citizens of 28 industrialized countries. But, it doesn't cover dental care.
In a nation that doesn't object to star athletes and Wall Street
maggots making a few million dollars a year, or a strange pre-teen named Honey Boo Boo becoming a TV star, we neglect one of the most basic of all human needs. It is the need to assure that every American, no matter who, no matter what social class, has proper health and dental care.
Walter Brasch
My Personal Note: I find this very sad on many levels. First, I too know Paul personally, but am in no condition to help him out - far from such a position. Second, the general lack of health care in American hurts all by the very affluent and I've been hurt by it...am BEING hurt by it - with several medical problems I can't pay for. Lastly, my father was a dentist and a very progressive person. He never turned away a patient who could not pay...and received threatening calls [I heard some of them myself on the phone] from fellow [sic] dentists in the area and others who hate such behavior. I remember one woman who he did extensive root canal work on over many weeks who could pay but a dollar at the time. Years later she knocked on the door to bring another ten dollars, which my father refused, with warm thanks and invited her in. He would only accept such late payments if he felt their financial circumstances had changed for the better. Where has compassion gone to in America? Did any of the Doctors and Dentists really understand the Hippocratic Oath they took? My father was reviled by many other professionals - and often called a 'Socialist' in spitting tones [he was :mexican:]. Now it is worse than it was then. I, of course had perfect dental care growing up and check-ups about once every other month with a cleaning. Now, I can't find a dentist that will even give a slight discount, let alone wait for part of the fees later. I hope Paul gets his $10,000- as money seems to be the only thing most professionals in American understand now......to everyone else's detriment - physically, medially, and spiritually. It is not just Paul's teeth that are rotting, but our entire polity, society and what it means to have a society - caring and sharing.
By Walter M. Brasch
Paul Krassner
I
received a letter from a friend this past week.
It was a letter he should never have had to write, yet did so out of desperation.
He is 80 years old, living off occasional writings and Social Security.
He has Medicare, but no dental insurance, and that's the problem. He needs dental work. A lot of dental work. $10,000 worth of dental work.
Many dental insurance plans for individuals are so expensive, and give relatively few benefits, that many dentists suggest the premiums just aren't worth it.
Without the dental work, my friend, like many people in the country, will suffer significant additional problems. Infection is one. Poor nutrition is another. There are even links to diabetes and thickening arteries.
So, my friend sent a letter to his friends asking for help. Not a lot of help. Maybe $100 from each of us.
Paul Krassner, my friend and colleague, is a giant in the world of social activism and journalism, praised by Groucho Marx and George Carlin, despised by the Nixonian establishment. He was a proud member of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters; with Abbie and Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Nancy Kurshan, he was a co-founder of the Youth International Party, better known as the Yippies. For almost five decades, he has been one of the nation's most influential editors, satirists, and columnists, his writings appearing in major newspapers and magazines.
Recently, two of those magazines that ran his column decided they could no longer run it. One editor said the column was spiked because the magazine was "shifting to a more business/retail-oriented editorial content." The editor of the other magazine, which had published his column for decades, said he had "great admiration for you and your writing," but decided another writer would now take over that column. That's just the way it is in journalism.
And so my friend has found his income not just slipping but in free-fall.
If hethe great writer, reporter, and editorwas the only one with this kind of problem, it still might be a story. But he isn't the only one. And that's why this story is so important.
Millions of Americansmost who have worked hard their entire lives, and now live on not a lot of moneycan't afford dental bills. So, they don't see the dentist.
More than 45 million American adults don't have dental insurance, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control. Medicare doesn't cover dental procedures; Medicaid, primarily for low-income individuals, only covers dental care for those under the age of 21. However, about one-fourth of all children have untreated tooth decay, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Our system of providing oral health care, particularly for children in this country, is ineffective, inefficient and it's extremely expensive and it really deprives children of decent care," says Dr. David Nash, professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Kentucky.
Among adults, according to the Foundation, lack of access to adequate dental care impacts low-income families, the elderly, and minorities more than the general population. Want to know why so many people in those categories don't have teeth? It's because the cost to extract a tooth is significantly less expensive than the cost to do a root canal to save it.
Many dentists allow payment plans, or will lower their fees for certain patients; many will not, and demand payment up front. Many dentists participate in an American Dental Association (ADA) program to provide low-cost or free dental care to children; but, dental and medical societies, unlike the American Bar Association, don't require pro bono community service work to maintain membership.
A number of community non-profit health programs exist, but there are far too few, with far too few financial resources. Patients can go to dental schools and have students, supervised by licensed dentists, work on their teeth. But, there are only 64 dental schools in 36 states, and many patients with dental problems can't afford the time or gas money to drive more than three or four hours to an appointment.
The new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which goes into effect next year, moved the United States closer to universal health care, already enjoyed by the citizens of 28 industrialized countries. But, it doesn't cover dental care.
In a nation that doesn't object to star athletes and Wall Street
maggots making a few million dollars a year, or a strange pre-teen named Honey Boo Boo becoming a TV star, we neglect one of the most basic of all human needs. It is the need to assure that every American, no matter who, no matter what social class, has proper health and dental care.
Walter Brasch
My Personal Note: I find this very sad on many levels. First, I too know Paul personally, but am in no condition to help him out - far from such a position. Second, the general lack of health care in American hurts all by the very affluent and I've been hurt by it...am BEING hurt by it - with several medical problems I can't pay for. Lastly, my father was a dentist and a very progressive person. He never turned away a patient who could not pay...and received threatening calls [I heard some of them myself on the phone] from fellow [sic] dentists in the area and others who hate such behavior. I remember one woman who he did extensive root canal work on over many weeks who could pay but a dollar at the time. Years later she knocked on the door to bring another ten dollars, which my father refused, with warm thanks and invited her in. He would only accept such late payments if he felt their financial circumstances had changed for the better. Where has compassion gone to in America? Did any of the Doctors and Dentists really understand the Hippocratic Oath they took? My father was reviled by many other professionals - and often called a 'Socialist' in spitting tones [he was :mexican:]. Now it is worse than it was then. I, of course had perfect dental care growing up and check-ups about once every other month with a cleaning. Now, I can't find a dentist that will even give a slight discount, let alone wait for part of the fees later. I hope Paul gets his $10,000- as money seems to be the only thing most professionals in American understand now......to everyone else's detriment - physically, medially, and spiritually. It is not just Paul's teeth that are rotting, but our entire polity, society and what it means to have a society - caring and sharing.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass