Before I begin to absorb this long New Yorker analysis loaded with examples, let me just add one comment: The underlying problem with “medical insurance” is that we think we’re “covered” if and when we don’t take care of ourselves.

I’m 72 years old. I have been caring for my body in a conscious, responsible manner ever since I stopped smoking, over 40 years ago. Even before that, I went for daily four mile walks, and did yoga. Now I do the same, plus rebounding, chi kung and tai chi, and of course, an ever shifting experimentation with the kinds and amounts of organic food that my particular body needs as it ages. I did “go to the doctor” twice in all this time: once, because I thought I might have appendicitis, and did not. Long story. The other, because I broke my right wrist on a fall on a trail in the woods, and the orthopedic surgeon did a terrific job repairing it. Otherwise, nilch. No prescription or non-prescription “medications” either. I do see acupuncturists, chiropractors, and one naturopath on rare occasions. For the past six months I’ve been working with an intuitive healer who works with homeopathics and herbal tinctures. Not because I’m “sick,” but because I aim to stay well and to relieve my body of hidden viruses, parasites and “bad” bacteria. No insurance for any of these “alternative” treatments. And yet not nearly the expense of allopathic medicine/pharmaceuticals. (Not until I got medicare did I have medical insurance, and yes, was glad for it when I broke that wrist.)

Note the subtitle to this piece. We are “patients,” not people. Oh? Not me. You might want to label me an “impatient,” since admittedly I have trouble feeling sympathetic with those still so mind-controlled that they “believe in” Big Pharma and Industrial Medicine — and then so often suffer the consequences.

Overkill

An avalanche of unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically and financially. What can we do about it?

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