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Barrack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America has been struggling to get the US Congress to pass his healthcare reform. It is one of his key campaign promises and definitely a top legislative goal.
He has proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured. His proposal would cost US$900 billion over 10 years and include a government insurance plan which is an option to compete with the private sector. It would also make it illegal for insurance companies to drop sick people or deny them coverage for pre-existing conditions, and require every American carry health coverage. The plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans.
He has yet to convince members of congress from the Republican side to go with his plan. Some believe that this is a major reason as to why Martha Coakley, a Democrat candidate was beaten by Scott Brown, a Republican candidate in the Massachussets (a Democrat stronghold) Special Election on January 19, 2010 - a message on how important healthcare is to a country and how vital it is as a political agenda.
Shockingly Deficient Healthcare Program of Capitalist US
Sicko, a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore investigated healthcare in the US, focusing on its health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The film compared the for-profit, non-universal US system with the non-profit universal healthcare systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba.
In one particular scene Michael Moore with a group of 9/11 rescue workers that were unable to receive and afford medical care in the US appear to sail from Miami to Cuba on three speedboats in order to obtain free medical care provided for the enemy combatants detained at the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The group arrives at the entrance channel to "Gitmo" and Moore uses a megaphone to request access, pleading for the 9/11 victims to receive treatment that is on par with the medical attention the "evildoers" are receiving. The attempt ceases when a siren was blown from the base, and the group moved on to Havana, where they purchased inexpensive medicine and receive free medical treatment from the Cubans. Providing only their names and birth dates, the volunteers are hospitalized and received medical attention. Before they leave, the 9/11 rescue workers are honoured by a local Havana fire station.
Superior Healthcare of Communist of Cuba
According to WHO (World Health Organization) statistics, the incidence of AIDS in Cuba is one of the lowest in the world, and there are now more than 800 Cuban doctors in Haiti alone working to control the AIDS epidemic there. President Fidel Castro has offered an almost unlimited number of doctors to be sent to Africa, to be paid by the Cuban government with only a small stipend from the host countries. This strengthens the fact of Cuba being one of the most generous countries in providing doctors to the third world.
According to the research, Cuban people's dissatisfaction with their personal lives does not mean they are negative about the revolutionary government's achievements in healthcare and education. A near unanimous 96 percent of respondents say that healthcare in Cuba is accessible to everyone.
In 1976, Cuba's healthcare program was enshrined in Article 50 of the revised Cuban constitution which states "Everyone has the right to health protection and care. The state guarantees this right by providing free medical and hospital care by means of the installations of the rural medical service network, polyclinics, hospitals, preventative and specialized treatment centres; by providing free dental care; by promoting the health publicity campaigns, health education, regular medical examinations, general vaccinations and other measures to prevent the outbreak of diseases. All the population cooperates in these activities and plans through the social and mass organizations."
As a result, Cuba's doctor-to-patient ratio grew significantly in the latter half of the 20th century, from 9.2 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants in 1958, to 58.2 per 10,000 in 1999.
Healthcare in Malaysia
Healthcare in Malaysia has undergone some radical transformations. The earliest pre-colonial medical cases were confined mostly to those traditional remedies that are evident today in Chinese, Malay and other ethnic groups. However, more modern and westernized medical practices were slowly introduced to this country.
In spite of efforts by the local government, there are still some problems that are unsolved, and one of those is the unavailability of quality healthcare centres in remote areas. Transferring a patient from a specific health centre to a more general hospital incurs some inconveniences on the part of the patient and the family, and also adds a cost to the healthcare system.
The introduction of the 1Malaysia clinic didn't help when the clinics itself do not have medical doctors available at all time. Only medical assistants (MA) are available to attend to patients. This shows the problems that Malaysia is having with its healthcare which is the lack of doctors.
MAs are mostly male. Besides having the same knowledge as nurses, they are also capable of administrating first aid. Since they’re mostly men, MA also do the grunt work such as lifting and moving patients. MAs study medicine for four to five years and they’re granted with licences to legally prescribe common drugs. But still, the main fact is that they are not qualified doctors.
Shortage of Doctors
The country is currently short of 9,000 doctors and specialists, especially in the 3 distinguished fields – pharmacy, dentistry and surgery. The number makes up 40 percent of the vacancy in government hospitals, clinics and private health centres.
Over the last five years, more than 100 doctors and specialists serving and working overseas have returned to work with the government and fill up vacancies in the pharmacology, dentistry and surgery fields. However, the small number is not yet sufficient to cater the need of the rising number of patients locally. The current doctor-patient ration now is 1:1,1465. The shortage of doctors will continue to exist over the next few years, to say the least, even though more local universities are producing medical graduates. The shortage is observed to be more serious in public hospitals.
The government-run universal healthcare system in Malaysia is a good option for most Malaysians compare to the more expensive private healthcare system. But the shortage of medical doctors is beginning to pose a serious problem in the development of healthcare system in Malaysia. As what is happening with the Obama Healthcare Reform Plan and the advanced development of healthcare system in a communist nation like Cuba, it has proven that healthcare system is one of most important element in any country. Related News
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