Health Care and Halloween

I'm just feeling remarkably jaded today, and days like today make me think about moving to a commune or another country. In my classes today, I struggled with a couple of things:

- The RI health insurance commissioner told me that the "universal care" in Massachusetts (MassHealth) is not going broke. His reasoning was that they are exactly on budget-- they just didn't count on the state's revenue dropping 20%.

This is like saying that if I budgeted $100 and spent exactly $100, but only have $80, I'm fine. WHAT?!

The problem with health care reform is that we're not doing anything to reform health care-- we're just reforming who pays for it. I think we should call it "health care financing reform" instead so we can adjust our expectations accordingly. Then the discussion can keep ignoring preventive care or systems change without making people like me crazy.

- Some PhD who came to speak about food safety in my environmental health class basically cautioned against organics because the fertilizer people use may have E. Coli in it. Okay, so here's a thought-- how about we fix the system of giant feed lots that packs a bunch of animals too closely together and feeds them things that they can't digest properly (corn), which is what propagates the bacteria. And then, why don't we fix the system where we have giant industrial butchering complexes where people have to do their jobs so fast (in order to keep up with the assembly line) that they accidentally "spill" dangerous bacteria out of intestines into the meat. Organics aren't as good for the environment and health as local food, but they're still a pretty good thing. I wouldn't stop buying organics because of E. Coli.

I think this is why I hate am very frustrated with my program.

I'm feeling like, if I can't actually fix the root of the problem, then I don't want to pretend that I can. I should just take what I've learned and go back to direct patient care where I can help people develop reasonable work-arounds to deal with the problems as they are manifest in their lives. That way, at least one person benefits, even though the system is improving at the speed of cold molasses dripping.

On the upside, I do still believe that some communities can change, and even though we're still chopping at the branches instead of the root, sometimes we manage to cut a little more closely to the roots. Like the fact that some farmer's markets are now accepting WIC and food stamps at farmer's markets-- that's a lower branch.

Okay, enough of my venting. Sometimes I do stop stressing about changing the world and have some fun.

A neighboring stake hosted a Halloween dance last week and my friends, Mark and Jordan, dressed up with me. I love these guys, because they're always up for doing things-- I don't have to try to drag them along. :)



Good friends, good times.