The man, named Kyle Willis, started experiencing pain in a wisdom tooth two weeks before. A dentist recommended that he have it removed. However, because he had no job and no insurance, and no money to cover the procedure out-of-pocket, Mr. Willis declined.
"Subsequently, the tooth infection spread to his brain, causing a headache. So he went to an emergency room, where he got prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications, and he chose the latter because he could not afford the antibiotics," the article states.
Apparently the antibiotics cost $27, while the pain meds cost just $3. Eventually, Mr. Willis died of the infection.
Back in February 2007, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver also died of complications from an untreated toothache. A routine $80 tooth extraction could have saved his life, but his uninsured mother, who was covered by Medicaid, could not find a dentist that would accept Medicaid coverage. Instead, as the infection progressed, young Mr. Driver required much more advanced medical care, including 2 surgeries and 6 weeks in a hospital, again covered by Medicaid, that cost more than $250,000 (meaning taxpayers paid for this) but was in the end unsuccessful in saving the young man's life.
Here's a picture of Deamonte with his mom, after brain surgery that was done to try to stem the infection.
Now of course with the story of Kyle Willis being reported by a Chineese news agency, they have a political axe to grind, specifically for their domestic audience; the tired old gambit of making oneself look better by portraying someone else (the United States, in this instance) in the worst light possible. They're still upset about having funded America's addiction to credit, I think, which of course points straight back to themselves, but that's another issue, for another time.
Anyway, the whole concept of universal, 'single-payer' health care here in the United States is pretty much dead. Certainly here in rabidly Republican Oklahoma, 'Obamacare' is universally and vitriolically scorned; if one were to use the actual name of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 with the average Oklahoman, no one would know what in the hell you were talking about. Anyone who had either the audacity or the stupidity of even suggesting universal health care runs the risk of being tarred and feathered and being ridden out of town on a rail (well, almost). (The same folks tend to insist there's no such thing as global warming, despite the fact that we Oklahomans are just wrapping up the hottest summer ever, with 61 days over 100 degrees; the previous record was just 50 days over 100, but THAT'S yet another subject.)
But . . . the question still remains. Why should we continue with things the way they are? I know I cannot afford to use the health insurance I have (GEHA, through my employer; their arcane rules for what they'll pay, to whom, and when, and what for, have left me to use this only in dire emergencies), plus I have no dental or vision coverage, because I cannot afford it. The best I can do, and hope to be able to do someday, is to pay for an eye exam so I can take the lens prescription to work and get the government-provided safety glasses they offer because of the hazards of my job, so I can get new glasses (even if they come with the decidedly unattractive side safety shields) as my current glasses, which are a little over 10 years old, are nearly falling apart. BTW, I'm diabetic too, and have never had a diabetic eye exam, and yes, I've been experiencing some of the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy: blurred vision that gets better when my blood sugar is low. And on the topic of diabetes, GEHA also refuses to pay for diabetic testing supplies . . . the apparent reasoning being that if they don't pay for preventive care and the disease runs it's course, to blindness and/or amputation, then I'll lose my job and my health care coverage with them, so they're not going to have to pay for the aftermath--Medicare will--so why should they pay for preventive care? It may be barbaric and inhuman, but if your only concern is corporate profits, it is logical.
Anyway, enough about my problems and back to the subject. Our politicians and their corporate sponsors/masters have successfully convinced enough of the American population evils of 'socialized medicine' that the Big Insurance, Big Medicine, and Big Pharma feeding trough will never be empty. 'Socialized medicine', as they like to call it, represents an enormous threat to their profits and dividends, so they (the Big Triumvirate--Insurance, Medicine, and Pharma) have made sure it will never be enacted here in the United States.
(Here's an idea for political reform: make all politicians wear NASCAR-style uniforms, with patches all over them, so we'd all be able to see who their sponsors are . . . )
But here is a PARTIAL list (though as complete as I have been able to assemble) of countries that have universal health care in one form or another:
Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greenland, Greece, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Monaco, Moldova, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Qatar, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City, and Venezuela.
Egypt? Yes, even Hosni Mubarak provided health care for his people, along with the secret police. Iran? Yes, the ayatollahs want their people healty, probably so they won't be hacking and coughing while chanting, 'DEATH TO THE GREAT SATAN!". Libya? Yes, even ol' Gadafi provided health care, and presumably the rebel NTC government will keep it. Mexico? Yep, even with all their other problems they provide health care for their people; in fact, their constitution requires it. North Korea? Yes, Kim Jong-Il needs all the followers he can get. Pakistan? Yes, and that means that Osama bin Laden had health care provided for him by the Pakistani government; makes you wonder how many of his victims didn't have any coverage, and how many rescuers who tried to save them who are now suffering due to their efforts don't have access to adequate health care. Russia? Yes, like Mexico, it's in their constitution; they have to. Syria? Yes, rounding out our group of tyrannical dictators is Bashir Al-Asad, who at least cares enough to provide health care coverage for his people while his army machine-guns anyone who dares to speak out against him.
That's 101 nations, representing 4 billion, 867 million, 366 thousand, 896 people, according to the latest data available. (Data from Wikipedia and the CIA World Fact Book.) The total world population is expected to hit 7 billion in October 2011, so this list represents 69.53% of the world's population.
One big caveat here, of course: this does not reflect anything at all as to the QUALITY of health care--just that the governments of these countries care enough to provide at least a minimal level of health care to their populations. Of couse, while some of these are near the bottom of quality in terms of health care, this list also includes recognized world leaders in terms of health care.
[WARNING: High cynicism levels to follow] So . . . to follow the propaganda here in the good ol' US of A, 69.53% of the world is suffering under the horrors of 'socialized medicine', of universal health care. Makes you wonder when we're going to launch another war of liberation, this time to free the suffering peoples of the world from their government-provided health care systems. You know, the economy is cratering, and wars have always been good for the economy . . . What if we said that their medical systems are just a cover for WMD?
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