Re: Graduated National Health Plan Needed

I would like to include my husband's 1996 malnutrition problem
into this conversation.
During Hubby's 2003 Cellulites hospitalization, there were four
immediate subjects: bacterial-produced Cellulitis, cigarette smoking
was considered a drug addition, diet/malnutrition, and the toxicity
that appeared in Hubby's blood test.

Both Hubby and I smoke cigarettes.  When Hubby and I were younger,
doctor/drug prescribers were on television stating cigarette quality.
Now smoking is taboo!  Since smoking inside a hospital was illegal,
Hubby with his sweet personality asked his doctor for an alternative
drug by saying: "You cater to heroin addicts, so why not give a smoker
an alternative drug, too!
The doctor did.
Hubby couldn't eat the hospital's healthy-choice, well-prepared food
and he didn't wish that his 1996 malnutrition problem to recur, so he
asked the doctor to prescribe regular food.
The doctor did.

The patient has to inform the doctor about previous health problems,
especially bacterial-infections and malnutrition.

"Cheerful Pickle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Jonathan,
>
> While it is true that long-term chronic malnutrition can cause such
effects,
> I am not sure how many actually suffer from long-term chronic
malnutrition.
> I have known of people who have been malnourished for a month or two
> (including myself for a couple of weeks), but with the availability of
food
> stamps and accessibility of food banks, there should be few who suffer
from
> that for extended periods of time.  Mostly, the one's who do suffer from
> prolonged malnutrition do so not from lack of resources, but from lack of
> wisdom.  They would rather spend money on alcohol, heroine or cocaine than
> on food.  Unfortunately, there are also those sad cases who are
> economically dependant on fools like that, I hate to say.  For instance, I
> have known people who have sold their Food Stamps (illegally, I might add)

> for half price just for drug or alcohol money.  That is sheer foolishness,
> but whoever accused drug addicts of having the wisdom of Solomon.
>
> Have you not heard, there is such a thing as being medically indigent
> without being poor?  Imagine a single person who makes $2000 a month
(about
> double the poverty line for a single person).  Imagine he has $2500 a
month
> in medical bills.  That person would have to spend over 70% of his annual
> income on medical expenses to qualify for Medicaid (and he would have to
do
> so in only nine months, because Medicaid now requires proof that the money
> was paid, not just billed.  During that period of time, what would he live
> on?  Air?).  To make matters worse, suppose he has to do that not just in
> one year, but in several years in a row, dissolving any savings he may
have
> had.  What is that person suppose to do?  Die?  Apparently, by the
attitude
> you portray, unless you are ignorant, of course.  I pray you are ignorant
> rather than heartless, because ignorance is far easier to correct (by
> learning) than is heartlessness.
>
> Get real.
>
>
> Andy Rugg
> The Cheerful Pickle
>
>
> Jonathan Smith wrote:
>
> snipped considerably brevity
>
> >I'm thinking suicide, drug abuse, exposure are all pretty much well
> >known killers.  I think poor nutrition resulting in diabetes, heart
> >disease, and a myriad of other conditions does a pretty good job
> >killing folks before their time.
> ...
> > There is Medicaid for the poor.