David Goldhill has done all of us a tremendous service with his 10,000 word article in The Atlantic Online. Yes, it’s long, but it’s thoughtful and true and something that really must be read. I had linked to it as an update, here, but decided that it really needs to be promoted, disseminated and discussed, and not relegated to an “update” that might be missed.
Goldhill is a Democrat who looks at the healthcare not as a wonk or a partisan, but from the perspective of a businessman who has just lost his father due to hospital-borne infection. He writes of his experience as an American without healthcare, and with. He writes as a son who watched his father die while the hospital served the customer – which was Medicare – rather than the patient. He writes about inefficiency, having twice prevented his father from being taken to surgeries not meant for him.
He is very clear about what is not working within our current health care system. He is equally as clear in noting that nothing the government is currently proposing as “reform” will actually fix what is not working.
Goldhill’s grief, and his love for his father and mother, permeates the whole piece, but this thoughtful analysis is not mawkish, and it is not meant to push your emo buttons; it is meant, in fact, to turn off the white-hot emotionalism that surrounds this issue so that realities may be exposed and hashed-out.
This is the most honest thing I have yet read about the issue of healthcare in America, and what genuine reforms must be considered – thoughtfully, deliberately, meaningfully and carefully – and not simply thrown together and rammed through our legislative bodies by leaders who are either unconscionably dishonest or honestly huckstering “free, free, free!” at people they do not respect.
Read this; pass it around. Urge everyone else you know, on the left and on the right, to read it. If you can’t do 10,000 words just now, start with this summary and it will only whet your appetite for the rest.
H/T Margaret Cabaniss over at Inside Catholic
Related:
A case for “social entrepreneurship replacing bureaucratic elitism as the means of solving human problems.” Another good read.
August 18th, 2009 | 6:05 pm | #1
Dear Anchoress: Welcome back. Good to see you commenting on current events, as well as faith, as I rely on your insights on both matters!
I will be sending the link to the Goldhill article to all the members of our local citizens action organization, and let them know how very worthwhile it is to read. I went to our Senator’s (Barbara Boxer) local office today, where I met up with 7 other Californians to go over why we had issues with the healthcare proposals that are currently being discussed. We met with the office supervisor, who was professional and obviously been swamped with similar meetings. I will be writing about the details later.
All I can say is that a form letter reply will no longer satisfy most voting Americans.
Hugs!
August 18th, 2009 | 8:04 pm | #2
[...] a final note, the Anchoress has returned from an inspiring retreat and urges everyone to read the David Goldhill piece on the Atlantic Online. After skimming the piece (with a promise to read it tonight in full), I have to concur. [...]
August 19th, 2009 | 10:04 am | #3
I read David Goldhill’s piece with a great deal of sadness. No matter the age of your parent, the loss is enduringly painful. My mother died at age 58 35 years ago and I still miss her every single day. I decided to post a link to Mr. Goldhill’s piece on my site and have also included my more pleasant experience at our local hospital here in Fredericksburg, Virginia – where the care and the sanitation are first rate and they don’t seem to strain in the process – it’s just their way of doing business! Here’s the link. Welcome back, dear friend.
August 19th, 2009 | 2:01 pm | #4
[...] Your MUST READ on Healthcare – The Anchoress [...]
August 20th, 2009 | 6:57 pm | #5
[...] The Anchoress waxes on David’s Goldhill’s from-the-heart article at The Atlantic Online. Goldhill is a Democrat who looks at the healthcare not as a wonk or a partisan, but from the perspective of a businessman who has just lost his father due to hospital-borne infection. He writes of his experience as an American without healthcare, and with. He writes as a son who watched his father die while the hospital served the customer – which was Medicare – rather than the patient. He writes about inefficiency, having twice prevented his father from being taken to surgeries not meant for him. [...]
August 21st, 2009 | 1:21 pm | #6
The medical system will always be autocratic no matter who pays the bill. Current MD practices with private insurers dominate the autocracy.
Every patient needs an advocate. Finding a good assisted home, nursing home or end of life home is part of that advocacy. People don’t realize it until they go through the process and realize how much power is in the unknowingly Doctor’s hands due to the current inefficiency of communications between different doctors in the health care system.
You don’t realize how good medicare actually is until you need it. It is quite good when you have a knowledgeable advocate working to get the doctors involved in your behalf to jump through all of the hoops. This is part of what Obama’s plan is all about.
August 21st, 2009 | 7:05 pm | #7
[...] reason? The American people can read and have been reading the thousands of pages of dreck the Democrats want to impose on this free people. Most of these [...]
August 25th, 2009 | 8:22 pm | #8
[...] FIRST THINGS– Your MUST READ on Healthcare …. [...]
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