Inhumane health care for American Natives

Jun 17, 2009 15:42

PROMISES, PROMISES: Indian health care's victimsBY MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer ( Read more... )

health care, native americans

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hedwig_snowy June 17 2009, 23:06:29 UTC
Too many 'cracks'. Too many people worried about themselves. Hey, it can't be a crisis because I have health care. Yeah, that'll work...until you don't. And then, instead of 'x' number of dollars, you'll 'x times 1,000' and that won't actually solve the problem just cover it up.

Read a gut wrenching diary on 'cracks' the other day as well....

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/11/740721/-Young,-Disabled,both-parents-dead,-he-came-to-ask-for-help

On a side note: My wife volunteers at Give Kids the World which is setup for kids like her....

(Might want to add the link and/or the pic of the little girl. People will be more effected if they have a visual. The way these things work....)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090614/ap_on_go_ot/us_health_care_s_forgotten

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synergy June 18 2009, 18:58:16 UTC
That's true. Although I often question this idea as the assumption has to be made that good, quality education has been given to the majority of residents and I find that's usually not the case. Knowledge and pervasiveness for "peer pressure" would help that, I think.

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synergy June 18 2009, 19:18:15 UTC
Agreed. When a co-worker (an MD from another country) and I had this discussion, we came to the conclusion that people need to learn about preventative medicine more than anything else. Not wait until it's about to late and you already have X preventable disease. Which goes back to my prior statement of pervasive education.

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rubygloomrox June 20 2009, 03:50:24 UTC
I almost posted about this as well. Where I live they get even less sympathy because of all the tribal casinos. People have this image of wealthy natives screwing the white man and wrecking cars. It gets ridiculous. But a lot of people who don't know or live around them have this image of some mythical being who used to exist. They brag about being 1/100th Cherokee or some other nonsense like it's the next big thing. I even read a book by a "true scholar" who claimed that certain languages were extinct already when I know for a fact they are taught in schools. So most folks have no idea what's even happening. Natives registered with tribes at least can look forward to at least being first in line for jobs for the wealthier tribes. But that's about it.

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synergy June 20 2009, 03:59:57 UTC
Yeah I had thought you should jump in here. It is ridiculous. I just stare at the people who make those types of claims wondering what planet they're from. Talk about being completely clueless and out of touch.

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rubygloomrox June 20 2009, 06:35:50 UTC
It's especially irritating to those of us who ARE Native. The thing is, my grandparents hail from two different tribes. So I'm not exactly "half" of any tribe. But at least I'm not on a reservation totally dependent on a government that has never followed through from the get go. It's things like this and the bullshit that goes on at the VA hospitals that give me pause for thought about government health care. Our government, even when run by the well-intentioned, can't seem to find its ass with both hands. Cash for clunkers just passed, too. But people are dying. Yeah, I get it that they need to step up and take responsibility for more of their preventative stuff like exercise and diet. But you'd be appalled at how misinformed or uninformed people are. And while everyone is quoting things about obesity and diabetes-hey, anything worse than the "normal" population is newsworthy- the basic line is that there really isn't enough regardless. I'm healthy as a horse. When we had mandatory physicals paid for by the local reservation, I was ( ... )

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