Obama’s new healthcare overhaul is causing uproar among Americans due to the misinformation and false claims that are being widely spread. Politics have created an ugly controversy that is overshadowing the truth behind this reform. Misconstruing language is being thrown between parties is causing the new healthcare reform plan to be portrayed as disingenuous and misconceiving.
One of the stronger statements being used by the Republican Party is the concept of “death panels”. These are described as entities created by the government to decide who receives treatment. Language such as this has sparked a fear in the population and those facing fatal illness are worried about their right to treatment options. A heavily disputed provision in the proposal is the government would pay for doctor consultations for those facing end-of-life issues. Those opposing to the healthcare overhaul have claimed that these consultations would be mandatory, though the actual proposal states that they would be voluntary.
This healthcare crisis will cause implications for those suffering from fatal illnesses, such as aggressive forms of cancer like mesothelioma. This type of cancer occurs in the mesothelium which is a thin layer of cells that line the body’s internal organs. Taking anywhere from 20 to 50 years to develop, this cancer is often found in older patients. Often called asbestos cancer, mesothelioma cancer is caused by the inhalation of dangerous asbestos fibers. The latency of the diagnosis is most haunting because of the similarity of the mesothelioma symptoms to those of the flu, pneumonia or bronchitis. Since these symptoms are commonly ignored for quite some time, the patient is often left with an intense treatment regime to try and stabilize the cancer as well as provide comfort and palliative care.
As the role of the federal government increased with the onset of the new healthcare proposal, cancer treatment regimes will have to be given a second look. The lack of stability within our healthcare system will greatly affect the nature of mesothelioma treatment protocol.
Leading doctors in this field such as Dr. Hedy Lee Kindler will also face changes as the government will streamline physician’s procedures.
In addition to the treatment implications that this new healthcare overhaul will present, the main controversy is focusing on the effects that it will have on our aging population. Mesothelioma patients are widely those of an older age group, due to the use of asbestos in naval shipyards and factories during the World War II-era. Using speech such as ‘death panels’ and ‘pulling the plug on grandma’, will not clear the conscious of the Americans who deeply rely on a stable healthcare system.
