Dear Doctor,
In a startling report posted by Reuters and MSNBC last week, over 80% of
Americans surveyed think that the U.S. health care delivery system needs either
fundamental change or a complete overhaul.
It doesn’t take the most erudite observer to recognize that there is disapproval
of the current system, but such sweeping consensus illustrates the degree of
frustration and the rampant dissatisfaction with the way people’s health issues
are being addressed.
The chief complaints revolved around providing better access to quality care,
better coordination between different health care providers, and better flow of
health information, according to the Harris Interactive Poll’s random sample of
over 1,000 US adults. “It’s clear that our health care system isn’t giving
Americans the health care they need and deserve,” commented Karen Davis,
president of the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit organization that commissioned
the study.
It is telling that these views were shared so consistently, regardless of
socioeconomic or insurance status. Only 16% of those surveyed felt that the
system works well as is and just needs minor reform.
The report also included recommendations for improving the system, like
rewarding providers for high quality care, and offering incentives to patients
who seek the most efficient care. Progressive ideas like this will tend to level
the playing field, as the anecdotal evidence over many decades has favored
chiropractic, both as a wellness approach and as a natural way to handle health
problems. If the system shifts toward methods that produce the best results, it
will be a great day for chiropractic.
The study also found that Americans pay double what those from other
industrialized countries pay, but often have more trouble seeing doctors, are
the victims of more errors, and go without necessary treatment more frequently.
Insurance premiums have doubled in just over a decade, with an average family
paying almost $1,000 per month, up from about $400 in 1996. In addition, each
American spent about $6,700 on health care in 2005, while the average Canadian
citizen paid about $3,300. They conclude that inefficiency and lack of
accountability within the system led to such a poor track record.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of blaming doctors and organized medicine for
these transgressions, and clearly they play a role. But we can’t ignore that we
chiropractors, as natural wellness care providers who have a viable solution to
the abovementioned challenges, have not yet effectively stepped up as leaders in
the wellness lifestyle movement, and assumed our rightful place in spearheading
this vital cause. The public is ripe for change -- they are disgusted and
appalled by their current situation, and the opportunity has never been greater
to establish a new trend in thinking in our communities.
Stop keeping your light under a basket – your neighbors are clamoring for a
better way, for a newer, more modern, more logical, more expedient and more
practical way to get healthy and stay healthy. Nobody does it better than
chiropractors – stand up for what you believe in, tell your truth, and recruit
supporters passionately and enthusiastically! It will make a huge difference in
their lives, and it just might be the change that the people are so obviously
and so loudly calling for.
Dr. Dennis Perman,
for The Masters Circle
PS Last chance to register for our all-new seminar, “Master the Game of Life” --
co-sponsored by Life University, August 14-16 in Washington, D.C., it features a
full day with Guy Riekeman, as well as special guest Richard Flint – please call
800.451.4514, or go to
www.themasterscircle.com.Thanks!
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