Father Jerome’s Essay: “The Other (Hidden) Crisis in Health Care in America and the World:

A Societal Odyssey”

 

  1. I saw a TV Documentary on Public Television the other day that closely paralleled or duplicated, much of what I might have to say herein this Essay about the subject of Health Care, but, even though what I might say here is apparently already ‘public knowledge’, among those knowledgeable and ‘aware’ Intelligentsia of our society, I am yet going to present this Essay, because it will be my own version and from my own perspectives of this ‘Crisis’ which I will be discussing!

 

  1. First of all, I will say that there has already been any number of articles, news reports, documentaries and investigations, into the various aspects of ‘The Health Care Crisis’!  But then, I will also say that what I will be relating here, has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with all those other ‘Health Care Crises’, except for the singular exception of the program I mentioned at the start of this Essay!  (Actually, there is an indirect ‘relationship’, to all those ‘others’, which I believe the Reader hereof will most certainly see by the end of this Essay!)

 

  1. Because, all of those other media ‘reports’ about the ‘Health Care Crisis’ were primarily focused upon the lack-of-funding and such economic aspects of the ‘Crisis’ and had nothing whatsoever to say about the real ‘Crisis’ that exists out there!

 

  1. And what is the ‘Real Crisis’, after all?  Well, let me relate how that singularly truthful Documentary that I mentioned at the beginning here, did so describe it!

 

  1. Apparently, it was reported, that there are many people, of all ages but especially seniors, across America, who cannot help themselves (and some who cannot even ‘take care of themselves’, as to the daily necessities of hygiene, etc.!), as a result of some kind of medical illness, affliction or disability (ranging from mere heartburn, allergies, obesity and such, to more serious maladies!), and definitely need the help and assistance of more knowledgeable experts than themselves, in order to relieve and eliminate their sufferings, or just to assist them in the daily ‘essentials’ that they can no longer perform themselves!

 

  1. But here is where the ‘Crisis’ comes in, because, the fact of the matter is, that almost all of the accredited and acknowledged ‘experts’ out there, by and through their ‘expertise’ and the Medical/Health Services that they would be ‘making available’ to those in desperate need of Health Care Services, would NOT BE HELPING THESE PEOPLE AT ALL, but would, instead, be seriously and further ‘injuring’ and even fatally undermining their ‘health’!  Or so said the PBS TV Documentary!

 

  1. Not only that, but the TV Documentary went on to note that almost all lower-levels of the Health Care Industry and those organizations providing supportive and related services thereto, were nominally and completely unaware of the harm and injury to these Patients that they, the Health Care workers, were ‘assisting’ with, to the extent that they (the Health Care workers) actually thought that they were ‘devoting their Lives, to the Best Care Possible, for those in need’!  Such was the actual ‘reality’ and nature, of their (the Health Care workers) training, education and knowledge, that they actually thought they were ‘doing Good’, when, in Reality, they were actually doing irreparable harm and damage, with possibly and usually fatal consequences!

 

  1. THAT, apparently, according to this PBS Documentary, is the REAL ‘Health Care Crisis in America’, that anyone, any employee of the Health Services Industry, from Administrators, Doctors and Corporate Executives, down to the Nurses, Medical Staff, Social Workers, Para-Medics, Ambulance Drivers, Receptionists and so forth, who actually thought that they were ‘doing some Good in the world’, by and through their job, did NOT realize at all, that they were actually, but indirectly, the ‘cause’ of such great harm and suffering as were the real and actual consequences of their ‘help and assistance unto others’, via their jobs!

 

  1. But, the PBS TV Documentary went on, to not only bring such an indictment upon the Health Care Industry, but to also document and provide examples and proof of what they were so ‘charging’!  But, I am not going to relate here, any of such televised documentary evidence!  Instead, as I noted at the beginning of this essay, I wish to more or less relate my own personal version of those ‘indictments’ being so brought forth against the Health Care Industry!

 

  1. Because, the very reason for doing so, is that I, myself, am one of those very same people that the PBS TV Documentary was talking about… those Americans in need of expert Health Care, and unable to adequately ‘medicate’ and ‘take care of’ their own Health Care needs, and yet unable to find anyone or any Service, within their resources and their means of finding such, that might be relied upon to help them, rather than harm them!

 

  1. And I will explain herein the following as to why such is so, but first let me give my own quite brief example of a similar evidentiary ‘sample’, i.e., similar to that of the PBS TV offering, as to one example of how such typical and usual ‘Heath Care Services’ of the Industry, do harm Patients rather than help them!

 

  1. And this is an example with respect to ‘medications’, as any Doctor or Professional within the Health Care Industry, might so ‘prescribe’ at any time, to any Patient, for any Medical ‘problem’ whatsoever!  And therein lies the danger, of such a form of Health Care ‘treatment’ – that of the ‘medications’ themselves!

 

  1. Because, one of the foremost realities about this Health Care Crisis which we are discussing here, is that both Doctors and Patients, have been societally and educationally ‘programmed’, to accept and respect ‘medications’ (i.e., pills!), as the most viable means and form of ‘treating’ any and all etiologies, TO THE COMPLETE DISREGARD and unknowing OF ANY OTHER FORM of alleviation and/or elimination of any specific malady!

 

  1. This not to say that there are not appropriate and efficacious ‘treatments’ and therapies for almost any malady out there!  In fact, numbers of Americans and citizens of other nations, do avail themselves of these reliable and truly helpful ‘services’ quite often!  But, the ‘reality’ here is that any and all of these truly beneficial Services, being truly the ONLY Services in the entire world, which are actually helpful to the Patient and not actually harmful thereto, do consequently carry the most Premium Cost anywhere!  And thusly, IT IS ONLY THE VERY RICH who can afford such ‘true’ Health Care, and certainly NOT the poor and lower classes!

 

  1. So, the Reality IS, that the Health Care Industry, DOES NOT EXIST FOR, or even ‘serve’, those Rich folks who can afford to pay cash for their continued good health!  In other words, the existing Health Care Industry EXISTS ONLY TO SERVE the poor and lower classes of Society, i.e., those who cannot afford GOOD-to-EXCELLENT ‘Health Care’ Services!

 

  1. And so we thusly have the major reason WHY ‘medications’ and pills are the major impetus of most all ‘treatments’ by Health Care Industry professionals!  If, instead of actually ‘treating’ a Patient with the most efficacious and workable ‘treatments’ and remedies known-to-Medical-Science, which, of course, would be very, very expensive (in that, through the economic laws of Supply-and-Demand, that which actually works, or does the most Good, therefore has the highest ‘premium’ therefor!)… “Hey! Let’s face ‘Reality’ here!  We got billions of Patients, who need ‘help’!  But we only got thousands, if not mere hundreds, of ‘cures’, for such Patients!  So what can we do?  The only thing possible!  Which is to ‘relieve’ or alleviate their SYMPTOMS!  In other words, we can’t ‘cure’, or fix, the problem!  The only thing we can do, is to try to ‘make the pain less’ or at least bearable!  And thusly, the only thing we can (legally!) do, is to ‘Give ‘em a pill, and hope they won’t come back until the next Check-Up time’!”  And thusly our Doctors and Physicians can most efficiently, via their Training and Education, be made into ‘Pill-Pushers’, WHO HAVE ALMOST NO knowledge whatsoever OF THE TRUE and viable ‘Remedies’ for any malady or illness, OTHER THAN via the ‘Medications’ that they are taught to prescribe!  (Another ‘Function’ of the Educational System, in ‘routing’ semi- or truly intelligent Students, into those jobs and careers OF THEIR Societal ‘Class-of-Birth’, so that such Students do NOT achieve, nor inherit, any Power or Richness within Society, except, as Doctors, such as their specific ‘Class’ does so allow them to achieve!  And even within such Social-Class ‘rankings’, there will always be the ‘Doctors-for-the-Middle-or-Upper Classes’ and the ‘Doctors-for-the-Poor’, and the typical Patients they will accordingly ‘treat’ and receive remuneration accordingly therefrom!  See my QUALIA III Document!)

 

  1. The point is, that ‘pills’ and ‘medications’, most efficiently AND ECONOMICALLY, fulfill the ‘requirements’ of the Medical Profession’s necessity to ‘Alleviate Illness’ (the old Hippocratic Oath, “Do NO Harm…”, apparently no longer applies!)  And thusly those ‘medications’, keep the Patients coming back to their Doctors (because the pills do NOT eliminate the ‘problem’, but merely ‘cover-it-up’ for the duration of the dosage!), so the Doctors, the Pharmacists, the Pill Manufacturers, the Insurance Companies, and everyone else associated with CONTINUED ‘Health Care Services’ (from cradle to grave!), in America and the world, can at least become somewhat-rich, and thus we have the Billion-Dollar Industry that it has become!  And, as to the continued ‘necessity’ to see-your-Doctor (because the pills have not really ‘cured’ your body’s illness, but merely reduced or eliminated the symptoms!), we have today the exact ‘diagnosis’ of such a situation and malady… which is known as ‘Iatrogenesis’, or those illnesses caused by, or ‘continued by’, seeing your Doctor!

 

  1. But, again, it (the ‘Health Care Industry’!) Serves, and is ‘Funded’ BY, the Lower-Classes and the Poor, and thusly involves the Government!  (Which no self-respecting Rich Person would even consider ‘asking anything of’, except as to how much money such ‘government’ might put into ‘my pocket’… entirely and discreetly ‘hidden’ and unknown, to and from the General Public!)  Which means that, for every dollar a Poor Person might ‘pay’ (in one way or another!), for their actual ‘Health Care’, approximately 10% of that dollar (or less!) will actually go to the Doctors, Hospitals and Health Care Workers; maybe 5% of that dollar will go to the Medical Insurance Industry; another 5% will go to Governmental Administration and Services (including MediCare!) related to the Health Care Industry… and 80% OR MORE, of each and every dollar that Poor Person ‘pays’, will go into a Rich Person’s pocket, somewhere and somehow… completely and unknowingly and untrackably (unaccountable!), by Government or any one else!  (All Government ‘accounting’ will show that, absolutely, according to all computer-analysis and the Best-Accounting possible, as shown by the Government Accounting Office (GAO!), that the 10% or so, that the person actually ‘receives’, IS actually 90%, or better, of what the person ‘pays’!  The 80% going into the pockets-of-the-Rich, will be entirely and completely HIDDEN!  Such that NO Governmental Agency or Congressial ‘Inquiry’, will be able to ‘track’ such ‘funds’, in any manner whatsoever!  This, as explained in my QUALIA III document, is the Hidden ‘Function’ of Society, i.e., to keep the Rich Rich, and the Poor Poor!)

 

  1. Okay, so much for the Money Aspect of Pills (I may have more with respect to such later!)  But let’s get back to another aspect of the proliferation and dominance of pills in Society, as a Medical ‘treatment’!  As an obvious ‘Golden Goose’, financially, for the Pharmacies and Drug Manufacturers, pills and medications are such a ‘normal’ part of everyday Life for most Americans that the acceptance and ‘reality’ of ‘medications’ in everyday Life has become a quite ubiquitous fact of daily life!  (Even the commercials-on-TV belie and bespeak the popularity and widespread acceptance of ‘medications’ in every-day Life, with ads for various drugs being almost as numerous as those for foods, which, of course, tells us plenty about the American Life-style and Culture!  As discussed in my previous QUALIA XXXX Document, the typical American is usually watching on their daily TV, enough regular, ordinary programs that have a high sexual-content (minimally, lots of beautiful girls!), or, if that American is a typical male TV viewer, probably lots of porno movies as well, all of which make any typical American sexually-aroused (unless that person is halfway-in-their-grave, or some macho sports-addicted homosexual, or some kind of religious ‘pervert’!)  Whichever the case may be, sexual-arousal in America, although widely sanctioned in all the media, is still illegal for many (mostly the non-married!), and thusly the pre-dominant commercials-on-TV are for food, to remind all our ‘perverts’, that FOOD is the only acceptable ‘substitute-for-sex’ in America (until one dies from obesity as a substitute-for-their-sexual-hungers!)  Of course, Food is a ‘Big Business’ in America, and the ‘repressed-sexuality-and-obesity’ Medical ‘problems’ are just as ‘Big Business’ in America as Food, as evidenced by all the aforenoted Drug-ads on TV!  And if you DO happen to have a valid (and legal!) ‘Love-Interest’ in your Life, there are always the Xantax and Cialis commercials, to ‘help it along’!

 

  1. But, the further point here is, besides the monetary and economic aspects of pills and ‘medications’ in our Lives, are the many and varied further ‘illnesses’ that the ‘taking of pills’ does surely bring on, as the accumulated ‘side-effects’ of all the drugs-in-one’s-Life combines and multiplies throughout one’s Life!  In other words, as is well known, the side-effects of those first ‘medications’ that you took in your childhood and younger years, do not really ‘hit you’ until over 20 years later!  By then, the accumulating ‘side-effects’ of ALL the ‘medications’ taken within your Lifetime, has so upset the normal functioning of your body, that most any normal American, by the time they are at least 30 years old, is seeing a Doctor quite regularly, for most any ache or pain or whatever!  (Leading, maybe, to the popular expression, “Over 30, Over The Hill!”)

 

  1. But, to get back to our typical American, perhaps a woman who is seeing a Doctor about her persistent migraine headaches, the normal American Doctor is going to do the obvious, i.e., prescribe a ‘medication’ for her migraines, as is his/her typical education, training and ‘proficiency’, in ‘treating-the-symptoms-rather-than-the-cause’ of any malady!  But, what neither the Doctor nor the Patient realize, in this simple example, is that this woman’s migraines are the result of the ‘medications’ that she took (or was given, by our parents!), over 20 years earlier, and which are now combining with the accumulating side-effects of all the ‘medications’ that she has taken ever since, and which are causing a significant failure and breakdown in this woman’s body, of the immune system and other autonomic functions, as well as possibly important organs such as the liver!  ALL DUE TO THE side-effects, OF THE MEDICATIONS that she has taken A LONG TIME AGO, and which her present Doctor IS NOT CONSIDERING AT ALL, in prescribing new ‘medications’ to her!  (There is one other ‘consideration’ here, which the Doctor in this case also will NOT be ‘considering’, and that is this woman’s Life-style, and possibly all the junk-food that she is regularly consuming at her typical age, the ‘side-effects’ of which are also probably combining with all the accumulated ‘side-effects’ of all her ‘medications’!)

 

  1. The obvious result, for this woman Patient, maybe now in her thirties, is by the time she is in her forties or later, she will be experiencing certain illnesses and ‘health anomalies’ ON A REGULAR BASIS!  And every time she sees her Doctor, he/she will prescribe more ‘medications’ (including pain-relievers, to ‘cover-up’ the aches and pains!), so that soon (if not already!) she will be ‘medicating’, maybe several times a day, on a regular basis!

 

  1. What the heck do you think such constant ‘medication’, over the years, is doing, to the organs and normal bodily functions, within her body?  Well, let’s just say, that this young woman, may not live to see the age of 60 years!  ALL BECAUSE OF her ‘Health Care’ professionals, whom she ‘trusted’ with her Life!  And whom have actually harmed her, rather than helping her!

 

  1. A while back, in this Essay, I said I was going to get personal, in my discussions here!  Well, I might have ‘strayed’ a bit, but most all of what I have so far related herein this Essay, just might as well apply to me as to anyone else!  Except that, having been within the ‘cadres’ of the Rich-folks once-upon-a-time (before my bankruptcy!), as well as thru my education-over-the-years, I’ve learned the ‘pitfalls-of-medications’ (as well as through personal experience!), and I thusly know enough to NOT take ANY ‘medication’ offered by any ‘Health Care’ professional!  Accordingly, although I am almost 65 years old (as I write this!) and not in the best-of-health (I have multiple disabilities!), at least I am ‘still kickin’, which is more than I can say for myself IF I had taken all those pills that have been prescribed to me over the years (as well as the many more that would have been prescribed!)  Because, the fact of the matter is, IF I had taken all those ‘medications’… I’D BE SIX FEET UNDER, in my grave, a long time ago!

 

  1. But I AM NOT, because I know enough to stay as far away from M.D.’s as I can, EXCEPT if they are also N.M.D.’s or such, and truly have a Naturopathic (or Homeopathic or Chiropractic!) Doctor’s ‘understanding’ of the ‘holistic’ aspects of any health ‘problem’ and the ‘treatment’ thereof!

 

  1. BUT, as we, and myself as well, have the further problem, which I mentioned at the very beginning of this Essay – a lack of resources and the means to ‘avail’ myself TO such true ‘Health Practitioners’!  Because, inevitably, such ‘Practitioners’, if not illegal (outlawed some places, for not adhering to the normal economic ‘rip-off’ practices and laws of the Medical Establishment!), are yet expensive, due to the validity and efficacy of their ‘Services’!  Which means that myself, as a very Poor Person in this Society (having no income whatsoever!), cannot avail myself of such wonderful ‘Services’, and thusly must go without any Medical Services at all (not covered by any Insurance Plan either!)

 

  1. But, such is the nominal situation for many Americans!  The ‘Haves’ (the Rich!) have it all (adequate and truly beneficial ‘Health Services’); the ‘Have-Nots’ (the Poor!) have it NOT (adequate and efficacious ‘Health Care’)!  And such are the ‘realities’ of the TRUE Health Care Crisis in our Society!