American Medicine After The Great Election

Congratulations America! We now have a brighter future. It seems like only yesterday I was on the campaign trail following the Trump rallies across the country side in a forty-two foot wrapped RV we used as a traveling billboard. The RV message expounded on the failure of healthcare in America.

We traveled the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. I would like to think my team and I played some small role in the outcome of our great election. The stories I heard from hundreds of people on the trail were heartbreaking. One woman needing a surgical procedure told me how she had to mortgage her home to obtain healthcare. Of the many physicians she contacted, none would accept a Medicare patient. After getting money from her refinanced home it was easy to find a doctor to do her surgery. How sad is this?

What happened to compassion, empathy and altruism in our once great country? Did you know that in the great state of Texas only 30 percent of physicians accept Medicaid? In our great state of Texas, only one half of physicians accept Medicare. It is not a jump in thinking to believe that in another couple of years the great state of Texas will not care for the poor or the elderly. I do not personally think this is entirely due to the fact physicians have lost their compassion. I think most of this is a refusal by corporate America to care for our most vulnerable population. They are also now the employers of a good share of our physicians and their bottom line is to make money. To hell with compassion. That is forced out by corporate greed.

The stories I heard countless times from the poor and elderly of not receiving medical care were heartbreaking and brought tears to my eyes. How does a country whose elderly citizens brought them to where they are today suddenly decide the elderly can be thrown to the wolves? How does the future of our children get thrown in the ditch simply because they are born into a poor family?

Here in Texas we are in the Bible Belt. I guess you might say we are on the buckle. If that is so and this God-centered sate has abandoned the poor and elderly, what on earth is the rest of America soon to do? I urge everyone to step back, look at our situation, pray to God and then proceed to do what is right. And Jesus said, “And this is my greatest commandment, to love one another as I have loved you.” [The Holy Bible, John 13:34]

Stay tuned for more on what it is like for a physician such as me on Medicare to get help when medical care is required.

Please help our new President-elect Donald J. Trump address the mess. This is Dr. Rick, The Maverick Doctor.