Matt Masiello, M.D., MPH

Tag: ACA

  • Why we dislike politicians and the media

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    Today, on CNN, Candy Crowley had Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on to talk about the effects of Obamacare; both are physicians. However, it was soon obvious that the two were not to agree on anything. But, what made their conversation regress to the malodor of current day politics was that Fleming, who may have felt he was loosing the argument, began attacking Emanuel’s profession, his character and role in life.

    To Emanuel’s credit he did not go down this path. Rather, Fleming was the bully. In addition, Fleming sounded like a bully who could not defend his position with data, logic and common sense. In the eyes of many Americans, the media is right behind the politicians as we are so disappointed and frustrated with this profession as well.

    With a keen awareness of what was happening, the meanness of partisanship, Ms. Crowley could have interjected a comment or asked why Fleming was attacking Emanuel as a person and not just his ideas or opinion. Nonetheless, she did not. Instead, she asked scripted questions, but not the questions of frustrated Americans.
    Our politicians continue to be disappointing with the media right there with them. They want their moment of rightness regardless of the consequences .

    This all points to the need that it is the home, community and state where we need to make it happen. Keep politics local and let’s disregard the behavior of our national leaders and the media as they continue to demonstrate their bad behavior. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to clean the slate of all present national leaders in the upcoming months.

  • Food Stamps, Poverty, and the Terribly Ignorant and Uncaring U.S. Politician

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    Poverty is increasing in America, with 17% of our citizens living in poverty, including 16 million of our children-our future. In several of our southern states, nearly 25% of the population lives in poverty. These states come close to Romania, considered an industrialized country, where their poverty rate is 25%. According to UNICEF, one American child in four is poor. When an educational minister from Finland, the country with the best educational system in the world, was asked what he could offer the United States as advice to enhance the educational status of the United States, his response was sobering – “nothing, there is too much poverty.”

    One shining light is the slow gains we have made in health care. For the first time in 37 years there are more Americans enrolled in a health care system. College students who will be buried in college loans now have affordable health care available to them. Our most vulnerable population now can enroll in a health care system with a pre-condition such as chronic illness; health promotion, wellness and disease prevention now are gaining some traction over the costly business of the latest and best technology, new and questionably safe medication; the unnecessary growth of some medical subspecialties and hospital surgical units, emergency rooms, and hospital executive office suites.

    So, what is our political response to this? Let’s randomly cut food stamps without offering a positive and sustainable alternative. The poor will work it out as the politicians go home to their comfortable homes and excellent health insurance, the best in the world in fact. And, this is their alternative; keep your food stamps, but let’s stop funding health care, even changes that have helped and will continue to help millions of our most needy.

    So, what should our response be as these politicians go home to their comfortable well- kept family and homes? Our educators and physicians, especially pediatricians, need to speak up. This, however, is a challenge and I will offer my opinion why in my next blog message on our ignorant and uncaring politicians.