Diabetic Recipes
The politically anticipated Iowa caucuses offer a strong foreshadow on who will take lead towards being the next United States president. The two current party front-runners in this race were decided tonight, giving Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee a head start. Without doubt- health care reform is a hot topic for presidential candidates. This is the look on what Barack Obama and, type-2 diabetic, Mike Huckabee promise in their health care platforms.
Obama:
Barack wants to put together a national health care system that will give access to every American. The big kicker- Those with current illness or pre-existing conditions will not be denied coverage. How many times have people with diabetes been turned away after checking that spotlighted box? An intensive reform process will be needed to conduct this change indeed. Obama is also known to support cure friendly stem cell research, backing useful stem cell bills as Illinois state senator.
Huckabee:
Mike acknowledges the broken system currently in place that focuses on disease treatment instead of prevention. He would encourage legislation that gives the private sector, and not the government, increased control over health care. His website states, "We have to change a system that happily pays $30,000 for a diabetic to have his foot amputated, but won't pay for the shoes that would save his foot." In terms of disease research, this one time Christian preacher rejects embryonic stem cell research which is one current way scientists hope to find a cure for diabetes.
Either way you swing your vote at the candidates' pitched platforms, reformed health care needs to be considered. Both leading candidates have valid opinions devised within their campaign on the best way to approach this change, and let's hope they don't "pull a politician" when it comes time to back up their words. Obama's entire campaign has touted change as the driving force behind his presidential run and it seems to me that... indeed, change is needed. Huckabee leans on American values and priorities, openly using his type-2 diabetes diagnosis and subsequent weight-loss as fodder in his health care debates.
Health care is only one mounting topic that stacks up in importance for the presidential election coming this November. And within the health care debate, there is a whole gamut of additional information to decipher. Use this as a stepping stone to look closer at the shrinking pool of presidential hopefuls, and let your voice be heard on Election Day.
I don't want to back a candidate here. I know that a lot of people like the sound of a national health care. But if you actually had a relative living in a country where they have it, you wouldn't think it was great. I have three differnt relatives who live in three different countrys and it has been a nightmare. One sister-in-law had two herniated discs in her neck. She was forced to wait for surgery for 6 months and is now a quadriplegic. An aunt living in Canada had a badly diseased gall bladder with multiple stones. She had to wait for her "elective" surgery for 2 and 1/2 years. She is now 86 pounds. An uncle living in England has type 2 diabetes. His care and options are so bad he has lost part of one leg, and has to wait for 2 years to see the eye doctor. I would hate to see what kind of a snarl we would all be in with natuional heath care.
I 100% agree with the premise of prevention first, then treatment. Depending on your health care system provider and your insurance, it seems obtaining preventive items can be quite problematic. The thing that scares me is any government involvement running anything that approaches a national healthcare system. I just don't think that with healthcare, government will somehow learn how to do things right, that doesn't result in huge outlay of money that never makes it to the people that need it. I don't pretend to have the magic bullet answer however. I wish we could come up with a way to entice employers and their insurance providers into a preventive stance. Maybe through tax credits to the employer etc.
ckkopenski- If at all possible, prevention first, I agree. A promising approach some employers are taking is the start of "wellness programs". They offer incentives such as lower monthly premiums and even cash for sustained weight loss and exhibiting a more active lifestyle (sometimes using company provided pedometers that can verify exercise). I think that this sense of awareness is a good start. It is acknowledging the dangerous path our nation is headed down if health care costs continue to spiral to the sky.
Saundra- Can't we ever get a break? In such a complicated system like national healthcare, it is no wonder it falls short in areas and is likely difficult to fix. How dreadful to hear about your families issues with their respective health care systems. Hopefully we can learn from other national healthcare programs abroad and fine tune them for the better if that is where we are headed in the States.