I know I have been a bit absent this week. I have to admit, that monster headache really threw me for a loop! I have a yummy recipe to share with you later, but saw this on Facebook this morning and wanted to share.
*Please note, I am not posting this to express frustration with our President with regards to health care. Rather, I am interested in this article from a healthy living standpoint. This week's FitBlog chat included a question about fitness spending. Basically, do you budget for fitness? A lot of people commented that they feel comfortable splurging on fitness-related things (gym memberships, race fees, quality gear, etc) because they consider it to be a money saving practice down-the-line. In essence - spend money now to get and stay fit or spend money later in doctor's bills and hospital fees.
Dear Sirs:
During my last night’s shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos, a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ring tone.
Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer status: Medicaid.
She smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has money to buy beer. And our President expects me to pay for this woman’s health care?
Our nation’s health care crisis is not a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. It is a crisis of culture – a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on 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
From a letter to the editor of the Clarion Ledger from August 29, 2009.
What do you think?
