Modern Health Care in the United States remains a global beacon of timely and effective Medical intervention for acute and chronic diseases. Though certain politicians and media outlets may paint a complete doom and gloom outlook for U.S. Health Care, the fact of the matter is that 255 million Americans (of a total of 300 million Americans) receive adequate Health Care in our Nation. Categorically, the plight of 45 million uninsured and underinsured Americans is unacceptable in a caring and compassionate society; therefore, our current provisions for 85% of the general population must be tweaked to perfection (not scrapped) to include all Americans.
Due to the poor economic conditions and paucity of Patient education in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District (CD 23), the challenge of improving the baseline Health Care status of CD 23 and its residents is formidable but not impossible. While some of my district’s residents are included amongst the 255 million Americans who have sound Health Care coverage, there are greatly more residents of CD 23 who have subpar Health Care coverage at best. The sad reality is that many people in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District have no reliable means of obtaining routine and preventative Health Care services; thus, the Emergency Room (E.R.) has become the one-stop treatment center for ailments ranging from the sniffles to untreated hypertension to unabated cancerous growth.
As a general rule, Health Care services delivered in the E.R. are more expensive than the very same services delivered in a Doctor’s office or an out-patient facility. Both common sense and cost-efficiency point to the need to enroll the people of CD 23 into a baseline maintenance Health Care program; thus, reducing the likelihood that the E.R. will be used as a general catch-all for Health Care services that are better delivered in a non-emergent setting. Most assuredly, the treatment and monitoring of Patient ailments on a routine basis will drive overall Health Care costs down while improving the baseline Health Care Status in CD 23. The following examples support this finding:
1) It is easier and less expensive to prevent a heart attack versus utilizing exorbitant resources to save a Patient’s life after an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack);
2) It is easier and less expensive to make lifestyle and dietary changes for a “high sugar” Patient versus the high cost of surgery and medications required after uncontrolled Diabetes leads to end-organ damage;
3) It is easier and less expensive to implement pre-natal Patient guidelines (such as no smoking) versus the “million dollar work-up” needed to save a premature baby’s life.
Please do not interpret my statements as a stance against life-saving measures and high-tech Health Care, I simply wish to highlight Health Promotion and Disease Prevention as an appropriate means of curtailing the prevalence of acute and costly Medical procedures and treatment protocols.
With the goal of bringing the uninsured and underinsured people of CD 23 into the “big tent” of sound Health Care that is both affordable and accessible, I continue my sincere efforts to represent Florida’s 23rd District in Congress. With over 20 years expertise in Health Care, Public Health, Policy Formation, and Administration, I am certain of my ability to deliver “A New Day, A New Way!” throughout the Health Care landscape of CD 23.
With Care,
Marion D. Thorpe, Jr., M.D., M.P.H.
U.S. Congressional Candidate
District 23 – Florida
www.marionthorpe.com
