The medical profession in the United States is fraught with health care nightmares. In novel years journalists have been reporting with greater import various accounts of medical mishaps and insurance denials that have had disastrous effects. More people are aware of botched surgeries or medical malpractice than ever before. Now some are learning about the control the insurance companies have over the very health care people get in this country.
Just recently a man was treated for bleeding on the brain and the wrong side of this poor mans brain was worked on. And there was the famed case in Florida a few years back where a man had the wrong leg amputated. There was also a famous comedian who underwent cardiac bypass surgery and the doctor operated on the wrong blood vessels. Some patients were told before surgery to actually write on the part of the body that needed surgery!
All-in-all nearly 50,000 people die through medical mishaps in the United States every year. To put this In perspective approximately the same number perish each year in automobile accidents. And in all those terrible years during the Vietnam War this was about the number of precious lives lost during that entire conflict. This is both astonishing and monstrous at the same time. In such an advanced nation such as ours this should be unacceptable. And to the public it really is.
According to some nurses it appears that the doctor is not always at fault. They are under a stout deal of pressure to do their work at certain times with certain guidelines and even the use of some equipment. And the nurses say it is the insurance companies who are constantly exerting a tremendous pressure on the medical community as a whole. To the insurance companies it is all about the money. The bottom line is not to spend one red cent more than is necessary to score the job done. In fact most insurance companies want to net the job done under a certain dollar quota. Most doctors do in fact want to do what they trained many hard years to do and that is being doctors. But the hospitals and insurance companies they work with are holding the purse strings.
The new movie/documentary SICKO by Michael Moore exposes these troublesome facts in some detail. His take is a little different but nonetheless it puts a spotlight honest on the insurance companies. And apparently this is not a good situation for them. Only time will tell how the American public will react to this and other news of the same ilk.
It is well known there are many many families, from grandfathers down to infants, who do not have medical insurance in this country. Why is that? And it is a fact that their health suffers greatly because of this. In a country with plenty of billionaires one wonders why some poor little kid cannot have his disfigured jaw realigned because it is not a medical necessity? Why must a poor man have his leg amputated because it is too expensive to save it? Why must a woman die of cervical cancer because she cannot be seen until it is too late?
There is something wrong here that needs fixing. It is up to the government to look into the insurance industry and medical coverage for those who can barely afford the cost of food an the table
Filed under Automobile Insurance Information by on Jan 23rd, 2011. Comment. 
We would all like to avoid being involved in an automobile accident for as long as we live. But a determined fact of modern life is that accidents do happen. And just as learning how to avoid accidents is significant for every driver, so to is learning what to do if you are involved in an automobile accident.
The first thing to do is to remove your motor vehicle from the roadway, if possible. Leaving your automobile in the way of oncoming traffic can result in additional accidents and injuries. If you cannot retract your vehicle from the roadway, turn on your hazard lights. You should store in your vehicle at all times some sort of warning cones or flares that will help other oncoming vehicles avoid your disabled automobile.
Call the police from your cell phone. When the police arrive, they will ask you your version of the events. Never say that the accident was your fault, even if you think it was. State the relevant unprejudiced facts as necessary.
If police are not going to be alive to, exchange information with the other driver. Make sure you opinion their driver’s license, registration, and insurance card yourself. Prefer down their license plate number, telephone number and email address. Jot down a description of the accident. Take photos of the vehicles and accident scene with a disposable camera that you should keep in your vehicle at all times.
If you are feeling at all not like yourself, ask for an ambulance. Go to the emergency room and get checked out. Know exactly what your insurance covers. Your insurance most likely includes a no-fault policy, meaning your medical costs will be covered by your own insurance company regardless of who caused the accident.
File an accident report with the appropriate state agency. Forms for such reports are available from local police departments and motor vehicle agencies. If you are at all injured (even if you don’t consider the injury serious), contact an attorney prior to filling out the police record. An injury lawyer will fully explain your rights under the law.
Maintain in mind that the other driver may describe this accident to his insurance company even if both parties agreed to pay for the damages themselves. Don’t make assumptions; cover yourself. Make certain your insurance company has your version of the events.
Hopefully, this information will be of no use to you. But it’s better to be safe than sorry. Keep this information with you in your vehicle at all times so that you will know precisely what to do if you are involved in an automobile accident.
Filed under Automobile Insurance Information by on Dec 18th, 2010. Comment.
