Patients Are Powerful

As a chiropractor I know that there are many people looking for good, afforable health care, and healthy alternatives to what is now available to them in such limited quantity and quality. I treat many people who have no health insurance or are struggling to pay for medical insurance that not only doesn’t cover chiropractic care, but doesn’t cover other medical needs.  And, I don’t have to tell you that these days, there’s a whole lot of shouting about health care going on. I don’t think that it’s too optimistic for us to hope that beneath and beyond the cacophony of conflicting opinions and misinformation, patients will find themselves more powerful than ever in determining what kinds of preventative health alternatives are available to them, the type of universal care that they will be able to get should they require it, and the variety, affordability, fairness, and efficacy of that care.

As an aid to “owning” your patient power, I am passing along a seemingly “neutral” article that I just read that I think you will find as helpful as I did, especially if you are confused by all the back and forth on health care reform. It is a guideline to terms that are commonly tossed about in the health care debate. If you have been wondering what any or all of the following terms mean, I invite you to check out the site at the bottom of this post: Blue Dog coalition, Co-op, Electronic records, End-of-life counseling, Gang of Six, health insurance exchange, Health care rescission, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mandated coverage, Medicare/Medicaid, “Obamacare,” Private insurance, Public options, Senate HELP committee, Single-payer.

Naturally, knowing what these terms mean doesn’t actually solve the problem. But, it may help us with the dialogue, should the sound decibels decrease to a point where the human voice is actually intelligible.

Getting past the lingo of the health care debate:

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