Budget Cuts Affect Mental Health

32 states and Washington D.C. have been dramatically cutting budgets for mental health services. This process brings in billions of dollars, but it also crowds prisons, emergency rooms, and dangers the public. The additional savings may be used again for more prison space and additional treatment. The Washington Post quotes;

California slashed funding by more than $587 million, or 16 percent. Kentucky gutted its mental health budget by an astounding 47 percent over the last two years.
In many states, the picture is likely to get uglier for those relying on state mental services. Starting this summer, some $87 billion in federal stimulus money for Medicaid assistance to the states starts drying up. Because virtually all Medicaid-funded mental health services are optional, states projecting another couple years of budget deficits are likely to chop mental health services further.

For one, I want to see mental patients being treated and cared for rather than let on the streets. Secondly, I want to see less money wasted by changing the game plan for health services. I don't think the Obamacare bill will come into affect the way it is in the next few years, but a for of it will be a step forwards in assisting the mental health of millions of patients. The article ends with;

Mental health advocates hope that the federal health care overhaul taking effect after 2014 will help add services for the mentally ill - but their hopes are dim that things will get better before then.

I side with the health advocates on this one, in hope that funding will improve for mental health services.

People Skip Meds to Save Money

What's scary about America's present health care system is that many men and women would rather go without care than to pay medical costs. This story is not too surprising to me, but it does provide some statistics. Here is an Excerpt;

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, the number of people who went without needed prescription drugs because of costs nearly doubled to 11 percent in 2009 from 6 percent in 1997. And the percentage of Americans who put off needed dental care because of costs rose to 17 percent in 2009, compared with 11 percent in 1997.

I do not blame the 17%+ Americans who skip drugs to save costs. The prices of medicines can be outrageous without a government that takes care of everything for free. This part of health care hits a chord with me, everyone should have at least some health care, or better health care than we have now where people have to cut back on medicine. I can't wait to see how Obamacare is changed for the better in the coming years.

Calorie Counts Don't Deter Adolescents

America is well known as one of the fattiest countries in the world. Some states have obesity rates exceeding 60% for adults and 30% for kids. This portrays a dim picture of this nation. Obesity is one of the top contributors to heart disease and countless other problems as you've probably seen if you watch major news channels. However, obesity is still a problem and will continue to drain money from incomes to pay for health care.
In a study on how fast food restaurants calorie counts affect peoples' choices in New York City, it was shown that only 9% of people were affected and the others still chose in relation to flavor. MSNBC reports on this study.

'It means we're going to have to rethink what other sorts of interventions might be more effective,' Dr. Brian Elbel of NYU, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

Mandating calorie counts on restaurant menus is part of President Barack Obama's new health care law is included in the White House's push to reduce rates of obesity, which is one of the biggest health challenges facing the United States.

I am glad Obama is hunting for a a healthier, thinner America. The rates of obesity in some states is outrageous.  Cutting back on fat will also cut back on health care costs significantly even if the obesity rate is lowered a few percent. We can only wait and see if America slims down the next generation.

Health Care in China

Health care in the US is far from perfect, but so is China's health care. China has a system where they pay around 60+ percent on health care expenses for patients. The country tries to give every social class the same type of care. The problems for China could be that there are so many people living in one country, or that rich patients can get better care because doctors like them. This 2009 CBS News article explains major problems China's health care is facing. Here is an excerpt;

China's health-care system is in disarray, a side effect of the market reforms that have spurred private enterprise and rapid growth since 1980. Before then, state-owned companies offered cradle-to-grave care, part of a system based on danwei, or work units, that provided health, education, pensions and other benefits. But as the economy has grown more diverse, an increasing number of Chinese have had to fend for themselves, with only a porous government insurance program to help.

As U.S. lawmakers engage in a tense debate over health-care reform, Chinese authorities, too, are attempting to fix their system. Over the past five years, the government has tried to provide coverage to more of its 1.4 billion people. But even people covered by a minimal health insurance program are often left with big hospital bills and must pay for most outpatient services and medication. More than 300 million people do not have any health insurance.

There are similar problems of coverage for both China and the US. I hope that our proposed health care bill is further changed to evade the problems China is having.
On a separate note, my mom has first hand experience with Chinese hospitals, saying they included long waits and poorer service than US hospitals. This may be another downside to adopting a "socialized" health care program, but I still need to do more research into our health programs to make a more intelligent diagnosis.

Upsides to Obamacare?

A Fox News poll and a recent house vote force me to question the information and opinions I have been fed about the health care bill. If this many people oppose the health care reform, there must be some good reasons. I try to ignore comments about it being socialist, mainly because this does not add much to the anti argument.
The Fox News article and poll stats are here:

On the issue of how Congress should handle health care, over half would like to see the new law either repealed entirely (27 percent) or parts of the law repealed (34 percent). Another 20 percent want the health care law expanded.

About one voter in seven (14 percent) would leave the new law in its current form.

Views on what should happen to the new law have held fairly steady for the last few months, with anywhere from a 54-to -61 percent majority supporting repealing part or all of the law, and about a third wanting it implemented as is or expanded.

The views range from wanting to completely take health care out of the picture, repealing parts of the bill, or keeping the whole thing as is. However, the majority seems to believe that the bill should at least be modified to better fit everyone. In it's current state, it seems there is no way it will pass as countless stated deem it unconstitutional to force people to pay for health care.

Sicko Facts

I recently watched the movie Sicko in my government class and had an eye opening experience. Sicko, produced and starring Michael Moore exposes the extreme sides of health care in the US, but it also brings up many questions.
Here is a fact sheet from Sicko,

• "The United States is the only industrialized country in the world without a universal health insurance system.
• In 2006, the U.S. census reported that 46 million Americans (recently revised downward to 45 million) have no health insurance.
•  “Over a third (36%) of families living below the poverty line are uninsured. Hispanic Americans (34%) are more than twice as likely to be uninsured as white Americans, (13%) while 21% of black Americans have no health insurance.”
• More than 9 million children lack health insurance in America.
• Eighteen thousand people die each year because they are uninsured.

This is just a small bit of the facts pulled from the movie (made in 2007). I find these facts fascinating because of their weirdness, for lack of a better word. These facts are weird, because America is highly industrialized and is viewed as one of the best countries in the world to live in, yet many people die because they do not receive health care.
Granted, Sicko takes many extreme cases and does not look into the bad sides of other health care systems. I am going to derive my own health care views from what I research in the upcoming months.