The title of the article I have based this blog comment on is this, from the Globe and Mail - 'Make rich seniors pay for drugs, report says'. A secondary issue is the "cost-effectiveness" of the care given by doctors, which I don't believe is quite the same meaning as "improve the quality of patient care."
So, first of all, I would like to say this: There are certain myths in society that need to be dispelled. The idea that the wealthy are worth more, in their very humanity, than the poor, is one of them.
There are other myths in society that are just as commonly believed, or rather, simply not questioned, but first things first. Some people having more wealth than others is not a good reason why they should be treated better, though of course, in some circumstances, having money enables a person to buy better treatment and health-care.
The slippery slope of the myth of the greater 'worthiness' of the wealthy leads not just to more choices given to them, but also more advantages in their health-care, to the extent that all other things being equal, the wealthy will still receive better treatment than the poor, even when it is available to all, apparently, regardless of class or wealth. Why?
The myth is that the wealthy are internally 'better' in character, in work ethic, determination, decision-making, and all other traits that make for a better citizen in Canadian society. Thus, more is given to them, and more is taken away from the poor. This is how our just society works.
So, when this term 'cost-effectiveness' is used, it makes me wonder how this is being interpreted, by girls working in doctors' offices and Emerg, and in fact, by the doctors themselves, who appear to have some kind of standard by which to base their decisions. When I talk to a woman who had three surgeries done by an Orthopedic surgeon on her shoulder, while another can't even get one done, for pins in a broken ankle, it makes me wonder on what basis are these decisions are made.
Commonly, in society, women who conform the most, by forming relationships with men that bring them (the men) satisfaction, will be rewarded for their effort, or willingness. Ours is a heterosexual society first of all, and that, together with the accumulation of money and power, is what guides our society. Money and sex. Everything else adds to the complexity, so that practically nothing can be understood in its simplest factors. But we have to start somewhere, and this is it.
Some people in society have more care given to their needs. And some people have a greater ability to pay for the health-care of others. But what should they expect to get in return?
Make rich seniors pay for drugs, report says
By Lisa Priest and Karen Howlett
Globe and Mail
May 27, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/make-rich-seniors-pay-for-drugs-report-says/article1582236/
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