Posted on 06/29/2010 5:08:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
If you believe that Americans have lousy health care, it is probably not because you have experienced inferior heath care. It is probably because you were told America has lousy health care.
Last week, major news media featured these headlines:
Reuters: "U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study"
Los Angeles Times: "U.S. is No. 1 in a key area of healthcare. Guess which one ..."
NPR: "US Spends The Most On Health Care, Yet Gets Least"
The Week: "US health care system: Worst in the world?"
Now let's delve into this widely reported headline as written by Reuters.
For those readers who rely on a headline to get news -- and we all do that sometimes -- the issue is clear: America is rated as having the worst health care "again."
For those who read the first sentence or two, an even more common practice, the Reuters report begins this way: "Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday. The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries -- Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found."
For those reading further, the claim of the headline and of the first two sentences is reinforced. The third sentence offers commentary on the study by the head of the group that conducted it: "'As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it,' Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters ..."
Only later in the report does the discerning reader have a clue as to how agenda-driven this report and this study are. The otherwise unidentified Karen Davis, president of the never-identified Commonwealth Fund, is quoted as saying how important it was that America pass President Obama's health care bill.
Could it be that Ms. Davis and the Commonwealth are leftwing?
They sure are, though Reuters, which is also on the Left, never lets you know.
Here's how the Commonwealth Fund's 2009 Report from the president begins: "The Commonwealth Fund marshaled its resources this year to produce timely and rigorous work that helped lay the groundwork for the historic Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in March 2010."
As for Davis, she served as deputy assistant secretary for health policy in the Department of Health and Human Services in the Jimmy Carter administration all four years of the Carter presidency. And in 1993, in speaking to new members of Congress, she advocated a single-payer approach to health care.
I could not find any mainstream news report about this story that identified the politics of Karen Davis or the Commonwealth Fund. If they had, the headlines would have looked something like this:
"Liberal think tank, headed by single-payer advocate, ObamaCare activist, and former Carter official, says America has worst health care"
Conversely, imagine if a conservative think tank had released a study showing that, in general, Americans had the best health care in the world. Two questions: Would the media have reported it? And if they did, would they have neglected to report that the think tank was conservative? The answer is no to both.
In microcosm, we have here four major developments of the last 50 years:
1. The Left dominates the news media in America; and around the world, leftwing media are almost the only news media.
2. The media report most news in the light of their Leftwing values (whether consciously or not).
3. Most people understandably believe what they read, watch or listen to.
4. This is a major reason most people on the Left are on the Left. They have been given a lifetime of leftist perceptions of the world (especially when one includes higher education) and therefore regard what they believe about the world as reality rather than as a leftwing perception of reality.
The same thing happened on a far larger scale in 2000 when the world press reported that the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) ranked America 37th in health care behind such countries as Morocco, Costa Rica, Colombia and Greece.
This WHO assessment was reported throughout the world and regularly cited by leftwing critics of American health care. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, no one other than a few conservatives noted that Cuba was ranked 39th, essentially tied with the United States.
Which means that the WHO report is essentially a fraud. Who in his right mind thinks Americans and Cubans have equivalent levels of health care? For that matter, how many world leaders travel to Greece or Morocco instead of to the United States for health care?
The answer is that WHO doesn't assess health care quality; it assesses health care equality, exactly the way any organization on the Left assesses it. And since the world's and America's news media are on the Left, they report a Leftist bogus assessment of American health care as true.
Imagine this headline around the world: "World Health Organization declares America and Cuba tied in health care."
Of course, only Leftists would believe that. But since non-Leftists would realize how absurd the claim was, that is not what anyone was told. Instead, the world and American media all announced "America rated 37th in health care by World Health Organization."
These two reports illustrate why so many people in America and around the world think America's health care is inferior and why they support movement toward nationalized health care.
But these two reports are only one example of the larger problem -- the world thinking is morally confused because it is informed by the morally confused. How else explain, for example, why America, the greatest force for good among nations, is hated, while China, never a force for good, isn't?
The answer is, unfortunately, simple: Garbage in, garbage out.
The America Sucks routine by the communist media is not working now that the commies are in power. Alinski never told them how to spin once they were in.
It still works. The left media ignores the Gore sex scandal and the oil spill. The outrage would be “round the clock” if a conservative were involved. Any Democratic missteps, crookedness, incompetence, or totalitarianism is covered up, obfuscated, or ignored.
The press is very effective. But the people I work with, all libs, are now very quiet as they suck up their daily news cesspool. They don’t see why the leftist pipers don’t fife and drum them into a rage on national affairs and issues. They can’t get mad like in 2005. A good liberal can only hate Arizona so much.
But believe me, the leftist spells from the press still work. People are as dumb as ever. Just not as many as last election.
If we had fair reporting, there would be no elected Democrats outside inner city and ethnic conclaves or places like San Francisco and Chicago.
My guess is we are #1 at baby in the womb killing care
Well, the article is mostly true, but I can tell you that in some areas it is getting harder and harder to find a decent primary physician. Of course, that’s because they are getting pinched so hard by the government, the lawyers, and the insurers. Obamacare will only make this worse.
So, when we talk about the US healthcare system, we are talking about what was, what is, and what may be. Most of “what was” is world class. Much of “what is” remains that way, but large holes are opening up for those who go in the front door.
I had an interesting conversation with a lady who was a contract nurse specializing in ICU work. She was rather liberal, and her support for a government run plan focused on the cases she’d seen where insurance companies had cut off support for savable people because of expense. OK, the evil insurers perspective. But, then she said something unexpected and interesting. “Do you know who gets the best care? The illegal aliens, because there’s no gatekeeper on cost.”
The system has large cracks because of government interference, and it is getting worse.
Thanks for this.
/threadjack
wrong bridge, wrong waterfront....
Bump
I’m sorry— did you specify a waterfront? And the bridge isn’t for sale.
My libinlaw is totally convinced and cannot be swayed by data and facts (imagine that - a liberal unaffected by reality)
that our system is 2nd rate at best.
Right. The great unwashed socialist masses do not pay attention to anything but the major network communist news. They are allowed to vote and that is a shame. We are at the tipping point and losing the Republic. Too many Morons and they can vote.
Too bad. So is a good pal of mine. Infected by The Brainwashing.
Sorry chief...no time to split hairs with you this morning, the argument is moot, and isn’t worth my time.
We had the best health care. People need to be responsible to stay reasonably healthy by not becoming size 5 x’s, taking illegal drugs, abusing RX ones and not over drinking booze.
I guess your libinlaw has never talked to someone from another country. I have spoken to several friends from the former soviet countries who have told me what type of medical care they have and I just stared at them with my mouth hanging open. For example, onions on your feet stops a fever... a common practice. Alcohol is used to stop widespread infections, pneumonia etc. There are two types of hospitals: one for the “regular” people and they are horrible and one for the “elite” which are somewhat better. It is no wonder that they have family members come to “visit” and get treated here for their more serious ailments and surgeries. It is not uncommon for family members to pull your bad teeth, stitch your open wounds and bury you. One friend told me to truly appreciate America you have to visit other places. Once you see what others endure you feel pride. She has been an American now for three years and she says her life started three years ago when she was sworn in. Just a thought
My libinlaw refuses to read the IBD’s “Perspectives of a Russian Immigrant” series.
She read one, and refused to read any more of them because they refuted her beliefs.
“My libinlaw is totally convinced and cannot be swayed by data and facts (imagine that - a liberal unaffected by reality)
that our system is 2nd rate at best.”
This is the real tragedy and damage. Most people like your libinlaw will NEVER be able to see the light. The odds are there is no hope for her. She has been brainwashed to the point where it’s unlikely she can think logically about many issues.
This will take years to correct if it can even be corrected. We must start telling the TRUTH to our youth.
:D
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.