Poverty, Healthcare’s New Level Playing Field – Podcast 159
May 6th, 2015 
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As we continue to celebrate Nurses Week, I can’t help but be honest about our healthcare system. Obama Care has never been a solution, in my opinion, as to how to fix the healthcare system. If you’re healthy, chances are you’re not going to get sick. Obama care is great for that.
But when you’re poor and ill, you still have to pay high deductibles. This becomes a human right’s issue.
Donna Smith, star of Michael Moore SiCKO, wrote an excellent expose about the brutality of our health care bureaucracy, from her own personal experience.
Yesterday, I did a podcast about how we are auctioneering off our entire health care system to pharmaceutical companies, health insurance, Wall Street, and CEO’s becoming Billionaires off the backs of the poor..
Today’s podcast goes into a little more detail about Donna Smith article about brutality and the healthcare system. I will leave a link here for those who want to read the article.
Listen in and In-Joy!
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3 Responses to “Poverty, Healthcare’s New Level Playing Field – Podcast 159”
Health Care should NEVER be a business. Scary that
The Obama health care is so unfair to the poor
Unfortunately, healthcare is a business and the traditional practice of medicine has focused on treating illness, rather than preventing illness.
According to the Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing: Leading Change Advancing Health” Nurse Practitioners should be utilized to the full extent of their education and training as full partners with physicians and healthcare professionals (IOM, 2011). Research indicates Nurse Practitioners are prepared as change agents to advance health and lead change in the healthcare delivery system. Research further indicates Nurse Practitioners implement evidence-based outcomes, focus on health promotion as well as disease prevention, contribute to the quality of healthcare, increase access to healthcare for patients, and decrease the cost of healthcare.
However, in order to work as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in about 30 of 50 states the NP is does not have full practice authority unless she has a “collaborative agreement” with a physician. In most states this simply means a piece of paper a MD and NP sign that they have a collaborative relationship on an if/as needed basis for patient care. Although the MD may never see the NPs patients or need to discuss patient care, as the NP practices to the full extent of her education and refers patients to healthcare providers just as MDs do when needed, most physicians charge a fee for this service. This limits NPs from providing care, increasing healthcare and decreasing healthcare costs, if they are not able to afford paying the physician’s fee to sign the piece of paper, if he/she requires one. Therefore, it limits NPs to practice to the full extent of their education, and these state laws are financially advantageous for physicians as they can also charge the NP thousands of dollars (per month or per year) in order to sign the required form.
NPs across the nation are working together in grassroots efforts with the FTC to change these anti-competition laws, increase access to care, decrease healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. Hopefully, the desires of the institute of Medicine will be fully implemented within our country, one state at a time. This is an important reason for nurses to be members of their state and national nursing organizations. There are approximately 4 million Registered Nurses. But, typically only 25% of nurses are members of their professional organizations to make nursing voices strong and collectively heard. In comparison, a larger proportion of physicians are members of their professional organization, the AMA, and donate their dollars to the AMA.
Professional membership to our nursing organizations allocates the ability to afford lobbyists and make an impact on improving healthcare through health policy legislative changes. Nursing has always been the backbone of public health, and I believe it always will be.
Thank you, Kate, for shining the light on these important issues. You offer great information and helpful solutions. Sharing with my audience!
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