As a CIGNA marketing exec and later as an independent consultant I travel traveled extensively in Western Europe to establish partnerships with private insurance companies to serve the needs of domestic clients with employees located overseas, and to assist foreign insurers to develop supplemental lines of health coverage’s such as dental insurance. It was an opportunity to observe nationalized health systems up close.
In the broad picture European and Canadian health systems function well. As compared with the U.S. system, they provide basic, life-saving medical insurance coverage to all citizens regardless of health status with loser costs and better outcomes. The U.S. system remains mosty private except for selected segments of the population such as seniors. The World Health Organization ranking for the quality of national health care systems pegs the U.S. # 37, even though we spent nearly twice as much as others to sustain our system.
Increasingly Americans are traveling to foreign countries for major health services. Open heart surgery in India is half the U.S. cost with better outcomes. The number of U.S. citizens going overseas for care now exceeds the number for foreign residents coming to the U.S. for health care services.
It is fair to say that covering everyone as in European and Canadian plans can produce waiting lines and a lower quality of care. For example, an age 80 patient in need of a hip replacement may be assigned to the end of the line to favor a patient half that age that can be expected to quickly return to a productive position in the work force. However, if this is of concern to a covered individual that person often can purchase supplemental insurance coverage from a private insurer at their own expense. For various reasons the private insurance component in Canada is very low, only about 1% of core services.
I know of no health insurance system that works to absolute perfection for everyone all the time. But based on more than 40 years of experience in the private health insurance, and observing how it has developed, I am confident Americans would be much better served by a nationalized health insurance model such as embraced by all the other industrialized nations on this planet. Unfortunately, we have so politicalized the issue the benefits of a nationalized system may be delayed beyond the 80 year effort to do what is right for all Americans.
Author and attorney Glenn Greenwald addressed the Gruber scandal on January 16 in his Salon.com blog titled <a href=http://mobile.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/01/16/krugman/>Krugman, Gruber and Non-Disclosure Issues<a/>.
[[Firedoglake]] blogger [[Marcy Wheeler]], who broke the story of Gruber's payments from the Obama administration, has also weighed in on the controversy in her January 17 blog titled <a href=http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/01/17/on-gruber-i-dont-want-apologies-i-want-independent-analysis/>I Don’t Want Apologies. I Want Independent Analysis<a/>.
Mitic CLIMATE ENGINEERING more rain,more food,cooler climate,huge carbon sink
USING HUGE (12m) TIDES FOR EROSION ASSISTED EXCAVATION OF LAND CHANNELS AND MAINTENANCE AFTER.
FOR AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE MELIORATION MODIFICATION TO MAKE DESERTS GREEN AND MORE RAIN DOWNSTREAM.
Erosion trigger channel + huge tides = huge erosion of land tidal channels = low cost excavation with erosion = land desalination = more clouds = more rain = cooler climate = huge carbon sink
Ask the farmer that got trouble with erosion because of rain
what erosion would huge 12m tides do.
Ask the scientist how big will evaporation be in bone - dry scorching hot desert if tidal system of canal and channels is made by erosion assisted excavation.
1. evaporation from saline tidal water, canals, channels, tidal lakes, tidal marshes
2. transpiration from mangroves and other sea water tolerating plants
3. transpiration from rain forest around, ( tidal evaporation 1 and 2 = more rain = rainforest 3)
Ask the engineer if it can be done.
.
Ak the economist would project be economical
if less: cyclones,floods, droughts, bushfires,
more hydro energy
Greener deserts and more clouds, cooler climate,
more water in rivers lakes and soil
Mitic CLIMATE ENGINEERING more rain,more food,cooler climate,huge carbon sink
USING HUGE (12m) TIDES FOR EROSION ASSISTED EXCAVATION OF LAND CHANNELS AND MAINTENANCE AFTER.
FOR AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE MELIORATION MODIFICATION TO MAKE DESERTS GREEN AND MORE RAIN DOWNSTREAM.
Erosion trigger channel + huge tides = huge erosion of land tidal channels = low cost excavation with erosion = land desalination = more clouds = more rain = cooler climate = huge carbon sink
Ask the farmer that got trouble with erosion because of rain
what erosion would huge 12m tides do.
Ask the scientist how big will evaporation be in bone - dry scorching hot desert if tidal system of canal and channels is made by erosion assisted excavation.
1. evaporation from saline tidal water, canals, channels, tidal lakes, tidal marshes
2. transpiration from mangroves and other sea water tolerating plants
3. transpiration from rain forest around, ( tidal evaporation 1 and 2 = more rain = rainforest 3)
Ask the engineer if it can be done.
.
Ak the economist would project be economical
if less: cyclones,floods, droughts, bushfires,
more hydro energy
Greener deserts and more clouds, cooler climate,
more water in rivers lakes and soil
http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Submissions/SubmissionDocuments/SUBM-002-010-0001_R.pdf
or
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/submissions/cprs-green-paper/~/media/submissions/greenpaper/0929-mitic.ashx
Just as we saw Americans lose their retirement accounts and life savings in the Wall Street financial debacle, the baby boomer generation (which Wall Street simply sees as a big ball of cash coming down the pike) is about to get rolled a second time by the Wall Street insurance companies. As a healthcare professional working in home health, I see it already---and this is just the beginning of something that is going to be horrible and devastating beyond anything we've seen in the financial meltdown.
My mom commented the other day, "Why doesn't Obama stop them?---if the President can't stop them, who can?" I said, "He's trying, but the truth is he can't. The President and the Congress don't control the country anymore----Wall Street runs this country." It's far gone. It's going to take a huge movement and, unfortunately, not enough people are in a position to see what is coming----if they were, we'd have that movement now.
Wendell, I worked at Cigna as a sales and marketing exec for 30 years in the Wilde, Roberts and Kilpatrick era and later functioned as an independent consultant to TPAs for 12 years before retirement. Currently I reside at Seabury retirement Community in Bloomfield but maintain contact with former associates, Dave Wahams and Tom Dooley among others.
There is much I admired at Cigna and still do. However, looking back the company and the industry has failed the American people in many ways contributing to the mess our health system is in today. My perspective on this is covered in a rather lengthy comment I posted today on your blog. I salute your efforts to achieve meaningful health care reform and through volunteer support to the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut lend my support for these initiatives.
I missed your recent appearance at the University of Hartford, Hopefully, another opportunity to meet you will occur soon.
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