Why Is My Dog's Health Care Better Than Mine? (by Sharon Glassman at HuffPost)

[marmar]

via AlterNet:


Why Is My Dog's Health Care Better Than Mine?

By Sharon Glassman, HuffingtonPost.com. Posted June 29, 2007.



A side-by-side comparison of how one woman's health plan compares with that of her dog.


Great news on the health care front!

A member of my immediate family got full reimbursement for the great treatment she received from her primary care doctor and a specialist.

Color me jealous! I thought to myself, as I pulled her check from my mailbox.

"Sit!" I told my dog, bb, the family member with the great doctors and insurance, who was trying to chew the check.

Why is my dog's healthcare so much better than mine? The question dogged me as we raced back to my apartment. So I answered it:

Answer one: Bang for Buck

bb's healthcare beats mine with a stick, that's for sure! This chart relays the deets, using a heuristic, peer-adjusted metric*.

(*Those terms mean zip-zilcho-nada. But don't they sound... insurancy?)

Answer two: Right-sizing

The second answer to my question -- why is my dog's health care better than mine? -- is the difference between hand-me downs and bespoke suits.

If my dog, bb, needs a prescription, her vet prescribes a dose based on her size. Focusing on treating a particular body as opposed to "symptoms" is such a smart, yet simple approach to care!

Could this be why human healthcare disses it?

"You must be one of the two percent of Caucasians," a doctor (no longer mine) replied when I told him my 4'10" body could not process "normal" drug doses. Then he sighed, as if I'd just failed a course called, "Tolerating Pharma."

If only there was a drug I could prescribe for drug sensitivity! his sigh said.

Shortly after that, I switched to acupuncture, a practice based on maintaining health as opposed to "curing disease."

The great news? I've found medical care that's right for me!

The bad news? My $7,000 plan does not include "alternative" care. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/55506/