Yahoo! News.
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- "The current debate
over Michael Moore's recently released movie Sicko is misplaced," said
Lori-Ann Rickard, managing partner for Rickard & Associates, P.C., a St.
Clair Shores legal and business consulting firm that specializes in the
healthcare field. "In fact many of the conclusions being made either by
Moore or other national and local columnists are ignoring the reality
that preventative care and patient access are the real keys to health
care reform," Rickard said.
"Our current system is not health care - it's sick care. And increased
government oversight will exacerbate the problem not provide the
solution," Rickard said.
In fact, a change to socialized medicine similar to that in Canada or
the United Kingdom will only lead to different symptoms - not a cure.
Socialized medicine demands the allocation of limited resources - a
patient gets what the government says the patient needs, not what the
patient wants or is willing to pay for, Rickard said. Sicko wrongly
suggests that those systems guarantee unlimited care for all, which is
simply untrue.
The availability of quality healthcare here is better than Cuba, or
anywhere else in the world, Rickard said. The fact is healthcare
providers are providing excellent care, emergency care is required by
federal law regardless of ability to pay, and the quality of emergency
room care is unmatched globally.
In consulting with her healthcare clients Rickard said that promoting
preventative care can significantly help improve the system.
"As a society we overindulge in alcohol, fatty foods and other unhealthy
habits and the government has structured a system of health care
insurance by which only coverage for the sick is widely available,"
Rickard said. "It makes no sense that preventative care or pre-natal
visits aren't covered or promoted by many health care plans."
Policies and decisions made by insurance companies can hinder hospitals,
physicians, and other health care providers and prevent them from
delivering what they were trained to perform - high-quality patient
care. It is an unfortunate reality that Rickard's clients, including
hospitals, physicians, ambulance services and other health care
providers face daily.
Our healthcare system tells hospitals and clinicians that they need to
provide the highest quality of care for free - something that would
never be done in the private sector and isn't done with other services
like financial planning, tax and accounting and legal work.
"The discussion of how to improve our healthcare system is a valid one
but in my opinion the issues being highlighted in both 'Sicko' and in
op-ed pieces simply aren't addressing the stark reality of the lack of
preventative care and patient access," Rickard said.
About Lori-Ann Rickard
Lori-Ann Rickard founded Rickard & Associates in 2000 after being a
partner in private practice at a large Detroit law firm, and serving
in-house as corporate counsel for the St. John Health System in suburban
Detroit. She is a nationally known public speaker and continues to
lecture for numerous associations and organizations. Rickard has
published several books and authored numerous articles on healthcare
matters.
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