Why Pay for the Care of the Careless? A Doctor Speaks Out on Medicaid |
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Written by Jennifer Palermo
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Mar 16, 2010 at 12:42 PM |
Why Pay for the Care of the Careless? A Doctor Speaks Out on Medicaid
Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure
of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold
tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and
costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who
chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B
ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During
my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more
than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and somehow still has
money to buy pretzels and beer.
And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in
which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or,
heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the
irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone
else will always take care of me".
Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility
and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health
care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully,
STARNER JONES, MD
Snopes says correctly attributed
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Last Updated ( Mar 16, 2010 at 02:14 PM )
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