What does it matter if I am nothing?

This article is to inform you all on how socialized medicine really works these days. It is almost this bad in the UK, but there is private insurance available for those who can afford to pay for it. At the same time, in the UK, you frequently have no choice about treatment for you or your family.

From the article:  CARACAS, Venezuela – Of all the woes bought upon us by Venezuela’s “Socialism of the XXI Century,” this is the one where my life took the heaviest blow, and the one where the government’s hypocrisy and indolence shine the most.

Venezuela used to boast a dual public and private health system, neither of which were close to perfect, but you always had the choice.

My parents were doctors that worked in both sectors in tandem. My grandmother was a humble nurse that retired before I was born. My mother, an anesthesiologist (with five extra medical specialties) was the head of the reference Pain Management and Palliative Care Unit in the Miguel Perez Carreño Hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, for sixteen years. So I was very familiar with the limitations and hardships of the public health system before socialism. I’ve lived in three different cities in Venezuela and I often walked through the corridors of hospitals as a child.

Still, despite all the shortcomings that the public sector has had, it always functioned as best as possible in my youth. That is not the case anymore. Our health crisis has claimed the lives of so many. I will always have the utmost respect for our doctors and health professionals because, despite all of the hardships they face – even having to perform surgery without power – they still work tirelessly and save lives.

The continued collapse of the country has affected the private sector as well. You have to bring your own supplies to surgeries, from gauze to bandages or antiseptic products — that’s how bad it’s gotten.

The rest of the article is here:  https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2019/11/24/my-socialist-hell-mourning-the-victims-of-venezuelas-healthcare-miracle/

Before any of the unbelievers try to excuse Maduro’s incompetence, he’s getting plenty of money from the sale of Venezuela’s only product, crude oil, but nothing works any more in Venezuela, including getting water. That has to be carried by hand to wherever people live. The entire infrastructure of that country – what we take for granted here – is broken.  It’s likely that Maduro won’t be out of office unless he’s dead. It may be a long wait. Meanwhile, what was once a thriving country with a thriving economy is well on its way to hitting bottom.

Lest you think it is peculiar to Venezuela – well, it is not. Russia’s antiquated and incompetent medical system and hospitals are more of a threat to a patient’s health and well-being than a Siberian winter. What was never admitted to or visible before the USSR ceased to exist is now plain to see. While the article below was published in 2016, it appears that not much has improved.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-horror-of-russian-healthcare-a7443121.html

From the article:  Russia placed last out of 55 developed nations in this year’s Bloomberg report on the efficiency of the national health care systems. Things are unlikely to get better anytime soon: Russia’s government recently announced plans to cut the budget for healthcare by 33 per cent next year, bringing annual spending down to just £4.6bn. That’s a level of funding equivalent to spending on health in Latin American or developing Asian countries, according to a recent report by Natalia Akindinova, director at the Center of Development Institute of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics.

For some critics, this inability, or unwillingness, to alleviate suffering is the logical consequence of decades of authoritarian rule. “Russians don’t want to relieve their suffering and the suffering of those close to them for the simple reason they have been taught to view themselves as replaceable, insignificant screws in the system, whose personal feelings are meaningless,” says Alexey Kascheev, a Moscow-based spine surgeon with a large social media following. “Both doctors and patients are willing to put up with physical and psychological torment. People think, “What does it matter if I am in pain, if I am nothing?” – article

Indeed, what does it matter?

Has the Russian health care problem/crisis been resolved? Not yet; according to the following article from 2018, the drop in oil prices has had an negative economic effect on everything, including medical care.  https://www.borgenmagazine.com/russian-healthcare-crisis/

From the article:  Russia’s economic recession and its regional governments’ $100 billion in debt has caused Russia to run higher budget deficits and to increase borrowing. The economic instability of Russia has contributed to increased poverty, major cuts to the healthcare system, and a Russian healthcare crisis.

Explaining the Russian Healthcare Crisis

The Russian Federation has free and universal state healthcare, but in name only. Changes to Russian’s national healthcare system since the fall of the Soviet Union have attempted to provide Russians with an acceptable level of healthcare services. However, a continued lack of funds, a lack of medical and technical equipment and supplies and an outdated approach to medical training present major obstacles to alleviating the Russian healthcare crisis.

Throughout Russia, there is extreme regional variation regarding access to healthcare institutions. Wealthier regions were found to be more effective in implementing healthcare system reforms, according to a study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University professor Judyth Twigg.

In rural areas, 17,500 towns and villages have no medical infrastructure whatsoever. According to the State Statistics Service, the number of health facilities in rural areas fell 75 percent between 2005 and 2013. This number includes a 95 percent drop in the number of district hospitals, and a 65 percent drop in the number of local health clinics. – article

This is what happens with socialized medicine, period. I believe Putin is trying to make things better, but he is too dependent on oil and gas production and has nothing else to export. Unlike the USA, where independence from the British crown meant the freedom to find your own way and become a success, and where the doors have always been open to innovation and bright ideas, under socialism, independent thought and innovation still require the approval of The State. Russia has had a boot on the necks of its own people since the days of Ivan the Terrible. China is not much better, but Mr. Xi does at least understand the economic benefits of manufacturing all that electronic junk that people love so much. Medical care is not and never has been a freebie – ever.

Just giving you all a heads up on what to expect from people who think socialism is the answer to everything.

Category: Economy, Health Care debate