As a Pediatrician, a Muslim, and a Mother: Speaking Out for Health-Care Reform

I asked this before and am still wondering: How does the current system fail the least of these? If little Brenda or Bobby falls from the tree and breaks an arm or worse, and mom is a single-parent with no health insurance, what is the safety net for them? If farmer John or mimimum wage Jane develops some terminal illness and they have inadequate or no insurance, will they be left alone to die? What does the current system do for these types of cases? How will it be made better with the Democrats' proposals? What are the Republican alternatives? And would the aforementioned be any better off under a Canadian or European-style system?

Perhaps the writer should shed some light on the context of one of the Quranic verses she references.

[5.31] Then Allah sent a crow digging up the earth so that he might show him how he should cover the dead body of his brother. He said: Woe me! do I lack the strength that I should be like this crow and cover the dead body of my brother? So he became of those who regret.
[5.32] For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land.
[5.33] The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement,

Dr. Mobbin-Udin presents an eloquent case for accessible, affordable, health care for all, based on her professional experience and that of her husband, her faith, and her parenthood. She does not attempt to present a detailed plan for reaching that goal, but simply to affirm it as a goal we should all subscribe to, as people of faith - she a Muslim, I a Christian. Does Lord Voldemort is dismissive of Dr. Mobbin-Udin, implying she is naive. On the contrary, she is profoundly wise.

Dr. Mobin-Uddin may or may not be a wise woman, but here her emphasis is not on the ins and outs of health care but on her status as a doctor, a Mom and a Muslim. The problem is she says little as a doctor, and nothing that cannot be said equally well by a father (or a brother or sister or uncle or aunt) or by a Christian (or Hindu or Buddhist or Confucian or Jew) for that matter.

Given the context, it seems a pretty good guess that she would be a supporter of the Obama-Pelosi health care bill, but I can't even say that for sure. She gives me no reason, as a doctor, Mom, or Muslim, why I should support the thing or not, nor does she give me any insight that might help me make up my own mind.

If I had it to do over again I might have laid it a bit less thick with the sarcasm, but this article is pure identity group posturing and that does nobody any good. For her and her patients' sake, I hope she's much better as a pediatrician than she is as a policy advocate.

LV

A very thoughtful essay is presented by a woman who sees the health reform debate from the point of view of a pediatrician(a primary care physician), a woman of faith, and a mother. The response to her efforts is scorn and sarcasm. I really hope that the author does not read these pathetic attempts to minimize what she had to say. She might think that these comments represent what it means to be Christian.
Consider yourself lucky if you have to ask how the current system fails the "least of these" in our society. They do not go for help because they cannot afford it, they go for help when a condition becomes intolerable and it's too late, or they go bankrupt paying for their healthcare.

"Consider yourself lucky if you have to ask how the current system fails the "least of these" in our society. They do not go for help because they cannot afford it, they go for help when a condition becomes intolerable and it's too late, or they go bankrupt paying for their healthcare."

Statistics and details please. I asked a question for clarification, and I get something that doesn't come near to an answer.

<<How does the current system fail the least of these?>>
I don't have research and statistics to offer here (I'm sure others do), but I do live and work among people for whom the current system doesn't work well. Often the problem is lack of local providers. I know a grandmother singlehandedly raising three young grandkids whose insurance requires them to go to a dentist an hour's drive away instead of one of the dentists in town. The office can't seem to schedule their visits on the same day, either, so she spends a lot of time with three kids fighting in the car. On the up side, she has a reliable car. Some of our other neighbors don't. I was in the office of one of the few Medicaid-accepting dentists in my county last year when an elderly couple were leaving. The husband carried a white cane, The receptionist was explaining where they had to go for his oral surgery. The wife protested that that was a two-hour drive and her husband had prostate trouble which made it hard to move him that far. She was told that that was the nearest office which would accept his insurance.

I also know quite a few poor kids with mental health issues who have to wait six to twelve months before getting diagnosed; in the meantime some of them are given heavy-duty meds which haven't been approved for minors.

Unfortunately, the Christian scriptures also contain some rather horrible prescriptions. We've grown and learned some things since then, and now we choose which verses we will live by. I object when my nontheistic friends use bits out of Judges etc. to show that Christianity promotes cruelty, and I object similarly to taking the worst bits out of the ancient scriptures in order to discredit Islam.

1. Medically, the present system cannot continue (see above reasons) 2. This present system is an affront to the God we all serve and adore.
3. Whether or not you are a mother, you must share with us the hurt that children are suffering neglect and harm under the present system.

This speech was not intended as a model of legislation, LV. It is an ecumenical call to realize that, whatever differences we have, the present system is deeply flawed, and my personal view is that there is a vast amount of money staked on keeping it just the way it is, whether God loves justice and cares about the least of us or not.

Hi ando, I am Canadian. I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, so I would advise Mom to phone 911 and ask to go to Children's Hospital, if possible, for the quickest emergency room. Otherwise, an urgent care clinic might be more convenient, during the daytime. The only cost to Mom would be a bill for the ambulance ride, about $45, but they don't try to collect on those. No monthly fee for Dr. or hospital, Xray, etc. since Mom is low income. Otherwise it would be about $55 for a family.
Referral to a Cardiologist, Surgeon, or to the world class Cancer Clinic in our city would be done by your family doctor. Hospital charges for ER, OR, ICU, etc are all covered. Some homecare assistance may be charged for, as well as nursing home care, depending on your income.

About what I expect--a nonanswer.

What would you consider an answer? I'm trying to judge as I would be judged...not that I practice that as consistently as I should.

Wow. What state do you live in?! I do know that there is a lack of
providers in many underserved areas of the country. And if one lives out
West or in the boondocks of the Midwest, Plains or the South, they might
have a ways to go to find care. Hard to find doctors who want to live in
such areas, unless there is financial motivation. Sounds like part of the
problem is the large expanse of our country, which wouldn't be an issue in
say, Europe.

Thanks for your response. It sounds a lot like what would happen here in
Madison, WI. More than 95 percent of the people in the state are covered.
I don't know what the charges would be for a broken arm, but I suspect it
would be on a sliding scale at UW Hospitals. But, we're much more
privileged here than in most of the country, so I don't think Madison is a
good example. It almost sounds like the Canadian system is too good to be
true!

I live in upstate NY. Part of the problem certainly is large underpopulated areas which don't attract doctors. I don't think that's the whole answer, though. There are dentists in my town, but they don't take Medicaid or other forms of insurance which low-income folks are more likely to have. There are oral surgeons less than two hours away, but again they only accept certain types of insurance,

And sometimes the problem doesn't seem to be geography at all. When my grandmother (in ME) was dying of cancer her kids took turns paying for her pain medication because it took weeks for her insurance to approve payment for palliative care--I think they finally approved it 3 days before she died.

In the UK if Brenda or Bobby break a limb they will get attended to at the closest A & E department. Usually they would get taken in a car if it was a simple fall, or by paramedics if their mum called them. There would be no charge at the point of care. With farmer John he would also receive oncology and palliative treatment and care if he seeks it. There are set standards for speed and quality of care and when I worked in this area it was first rate. In the UK people may choose to have private health insurance. It can speed up treatment for more routine care - but would make no difference in these 2 cases. With planned surgery it means people have greater ability to choose a convenient date, also the standard of accommodation - e.g. single rooms with wallpaper instead of paint on the walls. It is easier to choose your consultant with high level insurance, but it is also possible in the NHS. Private hospitals in the UK often have to buy theatre space and test facilities from neighbouring NHS hospitals, and it is common for them to be next door to facilitate this.
In the UK there are few Christians, or people of any faith who would advocate changing to an insurance based system.

In the UK if Brenda or Bobby break a limb they will get attended to at the closest A & E department. Usually they would get taken in a car if it was a simple fall, or by paramedics if their mum called them. There would be no charge at the point of care. With farmer John he would also receive oncology and palliative treatment and care if he seeks it. There are set standards for speed and quality of care and when I worked in this area it was first rate. In the UK people may choose to have private health insurance. It can speed up treatment for more routine care - but would make no difference in these 2 cases. With planned surgery it means people have greater ability to choose a convenient date, also the standard of accommodation - e.g. single rooms with wallpaper instead of paint on the walls. It is easier to choose your consultant with high level insurance, but it is also possible in the NHS. Private hospitals in the UK often have to buy theatre space and test facilities from neighbouring NHS hospitals, and it is common for them to be next door to facilitate this.
In the UK there are few Christians, or people of any faith who would advocate changing to an insurance based system.

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