The Hawaiian Islands and Washington D.C.’s sand-paper circle-jerk about Health Care

Recently I found out Hawaii has health care for any resident of Hawaii who works more than 20 hours a week. In fact, Hawaii is the only state that has any kind of government, not-for-profit health care mandate. Did I discover this on CNN? MSNBC? NCB, CBS, ABC or Fox News? Ah, no. It was Comedy Central’s, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Now any reader who knows me just a little knows that I like this show, as well as The Colbert Report. They both like to point out absurdities in the news, and though they may lean left, they aren’t afraid to make fun of news and politics across the political and social spectrum. Basically nothing is sacred... except maybe comedy, which isn’t exactly sacred because comedy itself can be poked fun at, but is more sacrosanct, which in my interpretation means, anything that will get a laugh is fair game, even if it means making fun of yourself.

But more than my affections for Comedy Central programming (especially The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and randomly, Tosh.0 which also really amuses me), I’m going to follow their example by pointing out an absurdity, or maybe hypocrisy is a better word, in our health care. But I must start with our modern version of The Hippocratic Oath, which is an oath historically taken by doctors swearing to practice medicine ethically. source: Wikipedia

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

With this in the forefront of our minds, I ask, Is our modern health care system, including all of the insurance, paperwork, billing, and doctor-patient interaction in alignment with The Hippocratic Oath?

What do you think? Weigh-in below with a comment.

But here’s what I think.

No. And here’s the most fundamental reason why: Any service or system which stands to gain in profit by people’s sickness, dis-ease, and desperation is in exact contradiction to The Hippocratic Oath and any humanely-measured moral code. People are dying and suffering severely because they cannot pay for necessary medical treatments.

Hawaii is the only state that has any sort of self-governed mandate that requires health care. And this isn't a program that's a few years old. Hawaii has had this health system since 1974, so it's been working for over three decades. Hawaii. Our newest addition to The United States, is the most generous with it’s citizens. And let me re-emphasize, Hawaii is the ONLY state that requires employers to provide health care benefits to any employee who works 20 hours a week or more.

But that’s not even the most startling thing about Hawaii’s health care. According to a 2009 New York Times article,

Hawaii’s health insurance premiums are tied with North Dakota for the lowest in the country, and Medicare costs per beneficiary are the nation’s lowest. Hawaii’s also has the highest incidence of breast cancer, but the lowest death rate from the disease.
(Link to New York Times article.)

So now I turn to Washington D.C. What’s the deal, D.C? No, that’s not strong enough. WHAT THE F$&K WASHINGTON D.C.?!? You’re basically doing a circle-jerk with sand-paper gloves about health care, and you have a state that has been beta testing a public health care system that works! Maybe Hawaii’s system is not perfect, but at least it’s working better than most of the continental-states health insurance programs.

We are in serious trouble as a nation if we see dollar signs where there are sick, desperate people. I take solace in the knowledge that it is probably a small percentage that see things this way, but they, unfortunately, have their claws and money in politics and policy or else things wouldn’t be this way.

Now I don’t think Hawaii can handle a massive influx of those of us who are land-locked without insurance. But what can we do? I guess the first thing is to let your representatives know you want a health-care system like Hawaii’s.

And D.C., please take off those sand-paper gloves and get a clue.

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