Tag: Medical Issues

Witch Doctor Prognosis

in case you may have missed it the results of Donny’s latest medical check up….

President Trump’s physician says the president is in “excellent health” and is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief after a medical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A report from Dr. Sean Barbabella, released late Friday, says Trump underwent a CT scan and other heart imaging, along with cancer screenings and other preventive assessments carried out by 22 specialists, per the AP. Trump, 79, said after the three-hour visit on Tuesday that everything checked out “perfectly.”

The president weighed in at 238 pounds, up 14 pounds from a medical exam in April of last year. His doctors gave him guidance on his diet, physical activity, and weight loss, but they concluded his “cognitive and physical performance are excellent.” With his 6-foot, 3-inch frame, Trump has a body mass index of 29.7; an index of 30 is considered by doctors to be obese. The report also documented bruising on Trump’s hands, explained as “minor soft tissue irritation related to frequent handshaking,” noting it was “a common and benign effect of aspirin therapy.” Among the recommendations for Trump was a switch to low-dose aspirin.

Last year the White House said Trump, who turns 80 next month, was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a fairly common condition for older adults that causes blood to pool in the legs. The report from Trump’s latest exam noted “slight lower leg swelling” but said there was “improvement from last year.” His doctor reported nothing abnormal, saying Trump demonstrated strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall health. “His demanding daily schedule, including multiple high-level meetings, public engagements, and regular physical activity, continues to support his overall well-being,” Barbabella wrote.

Then there is Donny’s pronouncement that he has “extreme intelligence’….the same thing he says every time….the problem is those tests are NOT an IQ test…..

President Donald Trump is again highlighting his performance on a cognitive screening exam as evidence of what he called “extreme intelligence,” following the release of a White House medical summary of his latest physical.

The condensed memo of the exam, issued by the White House physician after Trump’s annual examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, states that his cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was “within normal limits” with a score of 30 out of 30.

The MoCA is a widely used cognitive screening tool designed to assess memory, attention, language, visuospatial skills and other areas of cognitive function. Medical experts say it is intended to identify potential signs of cognitive impairment and determine whether further evaluation may be needed. It is not designed to measure intelligence, IQ or academic ability.

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/31/trump-says-cognitive-test-proves-extreme-intelligence-doctors-disagree/

This part gave me my first good belly laugh this morning….with coffee it was a good start.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Your PSA Is Essential

It is the end of the month and a good time for some FYI….I try to keep an eye on health news so I may pass it on to my readers….

Since I suffer from prostrate cancer I am always looking for info on the disease and write about it with the hope that more men will take it seriously and have their PSA tested….and this is an IST FYI post….I hope it helps.

PSA is from a blood sample and is an indication on how healthy your prostrate is at the time of the sample.

But the PSA test is not conclusive…..

News that former President Joseph Biden has advanced prostate cancer has revived long-standing questions about the benefits versus the harms of a blood test that screens for the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the U.S.

Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, screening tests are an imperfect tool for detecting prostate cancer, doctors and public health experts say.

Part of the problem is identifying and treating aggressive cancers like Biden’s while not unnecessarily treating men with slow-growing cancers unlikely to sicken them. Autopsies found the disease to be so widespread that more than one-third of white men and half of Black men in their 70s had prostate cancers that would never do any harm.

“PSA testing alone leaves a lot to be desired as a cancer screening test,” said radiation oncologist Dr. Brent Rose, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine.

The test measures the level of PSA, a protein produced by normal as well as malignant prostate gland cells, in the blood. Elevated PSA can be a marker for cancer. It also can signal a false positive or an inactive cancer, triggering a painful biopsy, and leading to overtreatment with punishing side effects, including impotence, incontinence and bowel dysfunction.

“PSA screening is beneficial,” Rose said. “There are risks, though, and so it is a personal decision whether or not to do PSA screening.”

The key is to target and treat aggressive cancers while waiting and watching cancers that might never become troublesome, Rose and other oncologists told NPR. Physicians have been walking this tightrope since they began regularly using PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer in healthy men in the 1990s. There is no other test that effectively screens for prostate cancer — the second deadliest cancer for American men, oncologists said.

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5405613/prostate-cancer-psa-test-age

AS we men get older it is a good chance that something will go wrong in your prostrate…..please talk with your doctor about this test and ask as many questions as you can think of at the time.

As long as this is an FYI and about cancer…..let us look at another problem….colon cancer and what we eat…..

It’s often recommended as part of a balanced diet, but Italian researchers suggest too much of this meat could raise certain health risks.

It may be well known that vices such as smoking and drinking alcohol can up your risk for cancer, but so can your diet. What you eat or drink could potentially affect your health more than you’d think, as past studies have confirmed how sugar-sweetened beverages or processed meats could also increase cancer chances…and now another type of meat is getting a closer look.

The peer-reviewed journal Nutrients in April published the results of a study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Gastroenterology in Bari, Italy. Reviewing data from 4,869 participants residing in southern Italy, researchers set out to see “for the first time” if there was a link between white meat consumption, gastrointestinal cancers, and all other causes of death, “focusing on the effects of poultry consumption.”

More than a quarter of all new cancer cases around the world are gastrointestinal, says a 2023 JAMA Network Open article. These include cancer of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, small bowel, colon, rectum, and anus. Notably, colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.

A Surprising Meat Has Been Linked With Colon Cancer in a New Study

These two cancers can be very common so please as you grow older consult your doctor about ways to help you detect these killers early.

Please try to have a lovely weekend and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Medical Update

I apologize if I missed a post or comment from my readers…..I had a rather busy day….in the morning Sue was unresponsive and had to be taken to the ER (no news on her condition only that vitals are really good)….then I had my draining treatment….I was not doing well afterword so my daughter brought me home and went back to be with Sue until she gets into a room.

Today will be a short day for I will return to hospital to be with Sue then another treatment later in the afternoon.

Please bear with me and I will be back to normal as soon as I can.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.

chuq

IST Health Minute

I read a couple of articles that just made me think that some things need to be left in the PC.  When I first read them my first thought was ‘seriously’?

Like men are peeing wrong or your poop schedule….

First your #1……

After a survey revealed all, a doctor has claimed men in the US are peeing all wrong and he explained why.

Ever wondered if you urinate correctly? Well, a study conducted in 2023 looked into the way men positioned themselves upon emptying their bladders how many times a day.

While the survey quizzed people across the globe, they found many men in the US aren’t peeing in the most effective or most health-conscious way.

The survey conducted last year by YouGov investigated ‘where in the world […] men sit down to wee’, and the results were certainly interesting.

“Thinking about times where you go to the toilet to ONLY urinate (i.e. only having a pee, not also having a poo), how often do you sit down in order to do so? percent of men in each country,” the survey states.

I think the majority of us are in agreement it’s pretty common for men to stand when urinating – but is that good for overall health?

Well, countries such as Germany (60 percent) saw a solid stream of men sit down to release their bladders, however, sit-down wees aren’t quite as popular in locations such as the UK and the US.

The US, in particular, scored an overall percentage of 23, with 10 percent of men sitting down every time, 13 most times, 23 some times, 17 rarely, six not having the foggiest idea what the survey was harping on about and 31 percent never sitting down at all.

According to Gerald Collins, a consultant urological surgeon at the Alexandra Hospital, there is a way which is generally considered the most healthy way for those with penises to pee.

https://www.unilad.com/news/health/doctor-men-us-peeing-incorrectly-explains-769810-20250204

Now your #2….

You might already know that how often you go number two can reveal where your gut health is at ― less than three times a week reveals constipation, the NHS says, while you may have diarrhoea if you go four times daily or more.

But while we’re learning more and more about how the health of our gut microbiome can affect our overall well-being, some 2024 research published in Cell Reports Medicine said that existing links between bowel movement frequency and conditions like dementia and kidney issues needed further investigation.

Previous studies were done on people who had already become sick, they said ― so they sought to find out whether how often we go has an effect on otherwise healthy people.

Looking at participants’ self-reported data, researchers grouped their poop patterns into four sub-sections; constipation (one to two bowel movements a week), low to normal (three to six bowel movements a week), high to normal (seven to 21 bowel movements a week) and diarrhoea (more than 21 bowel movements a week).

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/healthy-poop-frequency_uk_67a1ef47e4b09c94856207cd

Sorry to inflict you with this mundane crap (no pun intended)…..but it was a couple of interesting studies and results.

I hope no one is too grossed out…..it was just an IST FYI….

Please enjoy the rest of your Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

For The Blood Pressure Watchers

A very cold Sunday of the new year and I will drop some FYI instead of my traditional probing questions.

This post is for any of my readers that suffer with a BP problem….and are looking for answers.

As we grow older it seems that we are inflicted with high blood pressure and have to constantly attempt to keep it in check.

Is it possible that the BP pressures could be better than we think?

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is often called the “silent killer” because it can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health problems without noticeable symptoms.

For many years, people have been told to worry if their blood pressure numbers creep above a certain range.

However, new research and expert opinions suggest that the situation might not always be as dire as it seems. For some people, high blood pressure may not be as dangerous as once thought, and the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.

Blood pressure is typically measured with two numbers: systolic (the top number) and diastolic (the bottom number). For decades, a reading of 120/80 mmHg has been considered ideal, while anything above 140/90 is categorized as high.

Research has shown that not all cases of high blood pressure carry the same level of risk. For example, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine followed older adults with high blood pressure and found that for many, especially those aged 80 and above, lowering blood pressure too aggressively with medication didn’t always lead to better outcomes.

https://knowridge.com/2024/12/why-high-blood-pressure-numbers-might-not-always-be-alarming/

Talk to your doctor about these findings…..

I read this article that I felt I should pass onto my fellow sufferers….

++++But first….Please do not attempt anything medical on your own…. before you change anything consult your medical professional to be sure that it is a fit for your body++++

This is a claim of a natural treatment for high blood pressure….

Researchers from Pantox Laboratories propose that fasting could help reverse high blood pressure naturally by disrupting harmful metabolic cycles.

While a high-salt diet is widely recognized as a major contributor to high blood pressure, simply reducing salt intake often produces only modest results.

This suggests that salt might interact with other aspects of a modern diet to create self-sustaining cycles that keep blood pressure elevated, even when dietary salt is reduced.

Therapeutic fasting, which involves temporarily abstaining from food, has been shown to significantly lower high blood pressure. One reason for this effect is that fasting reduces insulin secretion, which is closely linked to blood pressure regulation.

By minimizing insulin levels, fasting may help reset the body’s metabolic balance and interrupt the cycles that maintain hypertension.

Recent studies have demonstrated that a structured regimen of water-only fasting, followed by a low-fat, low-salt, whole-food vegan diet, can lead to dramatic reductions in blood pressure without the need for medication.

These reductions are not temporary; patients who adhere to the follow-up diet often maintain their improved blood pressure levels over time.

This suggests that fasting, combined with a healthy maintenance diet, could offer a lasting solution for high blood pressure, potentially acting as a natural “cure.”

For those unable to commit to complete fasting, a protein-sparing modified fast—where protein is consumed in limited amounts to prevent muscle loss—might offer similar benefits.

If this approach proves effective, it could provide a safer and more practical way to implement fasting in outpatient settings, making it accessible to more people.

The implications of fasting extend beyond high blood pressure. Researchers suggest that its ability to break harmful metabolic cycles could also make it effective in treating other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and autoimmune disorders.

For example, fasting followed by a protective maintenance diet may provide a powerful strategy for managing these conditions. If a metabolic disorder can be prevented—but not reversed—by a specific diet, combining fasting with the diet may offer a more comprehensive and effective treatment.

This research highlights the potential of therapeutic fasting as a natural, drug-free approach to managing chronic health conditions.

While further studies are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy in broader populations, fasting combined with a healthy, sustainable diet could offer new hope for patients seeking long-term solutions to high blood pressure and other metabolic disorders.

(knowridge.com)

Do not attempt this without advice from your doctor

That does it for me today…..enjoy your Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Conan The Bacterium

Another Sunday….Christmas draws near….

Since I am not feeling very analytic today I thought I would post on something other than the approaching storm for this country.

I suppose that most everyone, that’s interested, has heard that those poor astronauts that were abandoned at the ISS will have to remain in space until at least March of 2025.

I have been irradiated so I got to thinking about all the cosmic radiation that space travelers will be subjected to as they travel the galaxy.

Then I came upon this story of Conan The Bacterium, as the researchers call it….( I was a huge Conan fan in my youth (the Barbarian not the Talk show host) the name just snap my attention.

Life is often viewed as fragile, especially when compared the vast and seemingly unfeeling infinite that is the ever-expanding universe—but then, you meet Deinococcus radiodurans. Nicknamed “Conan the Bacterium” after the famous beefy boy of comic legend, this extremophile earns its heroic nickname from being able to withstand not just immense cold and heat, but also acid, the vacuum of space, and (as the name radiodurans suggests) some 28,000 times more radiation than it would kill an average human.

D. radiodurans is the definition of peak performance.

Now, a new study led by scientists at Northwestern University investigates exactly how this wonder bacterium can survive so many extreme environments that’d spell the end of any other species. This examination led to a collection of simple metabolites—the end product of biological metabolism—and how they interact with manganese to form a powerful antioxidant.

Inspired by this process, the researchers constructed a synthetic antioxidant called MDP made from manganese ions, phosphate and a small peptide, and found that these components provided incredible radiation protection—far beyond the protection of the manganese paired with only one other component. The results of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

“We’ve long known that manganese ions and phosphate together make a strong antioxidant, but discovering and understanding the ‘magic’ potency provided by the addition of the third component is a breakthrough,” Brian Hoffman, senior author of the study from Northwestern, said in a press statement. “This study has provided the key to understanding why this combination is such a powerful—and promising—radioprotectant.”

When analyzing the scenario of D. radiodurans surviving on the surface of Mars, Hoffman and his team measured the amount of manganese antioxidants using an advanced spectroscopy technique, and discovered that the amount of manganese antioxidants and the amount of radiation protection formed a positive correlation—more of one means more of the other.

This could obviously have immense applications for humans as we continue exploring the Solar System and beyond—after all, space tends to be pretty irradiated. So, a “radioprotectant” (as Hoffman calls it) that’s tailor-made for humans—whether used in spacecraft shielding or space suits—could be immensely beneficial.

“This new understanding of MDP could lead to the development of even more potent manganese-based antioxidants for applications in health care, industry, defense and space exploration,” Michael Daly, a co-author of the study from Uniformed Services University, said in a press statement.

Maybe this mighty bacterium’s name is a compliment to Conan the Barbarian, rather than the other way around.

(popularmechanics.com)

Now we have our own version of ‘Starship Troopers’ that eventually venture into space to face the evils that threaten the earth….this process could save lives lost to radiation.

Maybe not earth shattering but interesting…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All Those Medical Bills

I am told that today’s session with the ‘Cyber Knife’, focused radiation therapy, will be my last then there will be re-evaluation of my condition and then decide what to move on to for my next treatment….maybe now I can get a bit of my energy back.

I know that health care is very expensive here but since I started my ordeal it seems that bills arrive daily…..makes one ask just what the Hell is going on with, according to some, the best health care in the world.

There are few….make that many….theories at why the costs are so prohibitive….here are a couple of observations….

One of the most talked-about policies in the national conversation around insurance is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s decision in Connecticut, New York, and Missouri to deny claims for anesthesia for surgeries that went longer than a set time limit. It was greeted with huge uproar before the insurer backtracked, citing “misinformation” about the issue. For some, that’s exactly what this was, wrongly painting the insurer as the bad guy. For others, it’s a further sign that the private insurance system needs to go. Two opinions:

Eric Levitz, Vox:

  • “People imagined patients waking up from surgery to find they owed thousands of dollars because their procedure went 15 minutes long,” writes the journalist. But this was a “cost control” that would’ve reduced payments for anesthesiologists who tend to exaggerate and overbill, says Levitz, stressing the burden would’ve fallen on those providers, not patients. Ultimately, if health care costs are to fall in the US, hospitals, physicians, and drug companies—which “charge much higher rates than their peers in other wealthy nations”—need to “accept lower payments,” Levitz writes. “Ideally, we would do this through a comprehensive system of public cost controls and insurance provision. Failing that, we need private insurers to drive a harder bargain with the most expensive doctors and hospitals.”

Dr. Adam Gaffney, MSNBC:

  • Gaffney of the Harvard Medical School redirects the blame onto insurers. “Obviously, most health care spending goes to health care provision,” he writes. “The relevant question is how to realize savings while upgrading care for everyone, and the best answer is by eliminating the gargantuan waste that is our private insurance system.” “The traditional, public Medicare program spends about 2% of its total revenue on administration. Private insurers, by contrast, take 10% (or more) of your premium for administration and profit,” he writes. “This fivefold difference accounts for the more than $400 billion in savings that the Congressional Budget Office projects could be saved annually from eliminating private insurance and moving to ‘Medicare for All.’ Instead, we’re basically setting that money on fire.”

As prices keep rising more and more Americans are searching for answers….

Public sentiment regarding the nation’s for-profit healthcare system—an outlier among wealthy nations—has dominated the national news in recent days following last week’s killing of an insurance executive in New York.

On Monday, just hours before a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was arrested by police, a new Gallup poll found a 62% majority in the U.S. believe the government should ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage—the highest percentage in more than a decade.

Just 42% of people in 2013 believed it was the government’s responsibility to make sure everyone in the country had health coverage—a low since the beginning of this century.

The poll found that a majority of Republicans still believe ensuring health coverage is not the government’s job, but the majority has shrunk since 2020.

That year, only 22% of Republican voters believed the government should ensure everyone in the country has healthcare, but that number has now grown to 32%.

The percentage of Independents who think the issue is in the government’s purview has also gone up by six points since 2020, and Democratic support remains high, currently at 90%.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/universal-healthcare-poll

Those findings alone should sway the government into action…..HAHAHA!

With the incoming people profit is far more important than the health of your mom or dad….enter those scary death panels that the GOP was warning us about back in 2012….but who knew they would be warning us against their policies?

I will be out of pocket most of the day so this will be my only offering for your consideration.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

For Profit Healthcare Sucks!

Because of my recent diagnosis I am spending more time taking looks at this country’s healthcare system. We are told by some pundits that the US has the best healthcare in the world….I dispute that claim….as someone that is getting up there in age I have need of the system to see that I get older and I am not impressed.

I have been bitching about the healthcare in this country for decades and recently some in the Congress have tried to push through a package they call Medicare For All…..of course I had to write about it in 2019….

https://lobotero.com/2019/03/04/medicare-for-all/ Now back to the lie that we have the best healthcare in the world…..

A report out Thursday shows that the United States’ for-profit healthcare system still ranks dead last among peer nations on key metrics, including access to care and health outcomes such as life expectancy at birth. The new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund is the latest indictment of a corporate-dominated system that leaves tens of millions of people uninsured or underinsured and unable to afford life-saving medications without rationing doses or going into debt. “Despite spending a lot on healthcare, the United States is not meeting one of the principal obligations of a nation: to protect the health and welfare of its residents,” the report states. “Most of the countries we compared are providing this protection, even though each can learn a good deal from its peers. The U.S., in failing this ultimate test of a successful nation, remains an outlier.” People in the U.S., which spends roughly twice as much per capita on healthcare as other rich nations, “live the shortest lives and have the most avoidable deaths,” Commonwealth noted, pointing to frequent “denials of services by insurance companies” and other systematic defects of the American system, including massive administrative costs. Meanwhile, insurance giants and pharmaceutical companies are raking in huge profits, benefiting in particular from the growing privatization of Medicare. More than half of the Medicare-eligible population in the U.S. is currently on a privately run Medicare Advantage plan. “Our private, profit-driven system means that we are paying more for less,” progressive activist Jonathan Cohn wrote in response to the Commonwealth report.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-healthcare-system This failure on the system can be blamed on the bribes paid to Congress to see that nothing changes and the profits just keep rolling in and the officials have their hands out for the big pay offs. This system sucks.  That is the best description I can give. I Read, I Write, You Know “cognito ergo me agitare”

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

You know the kind of day I mean….bad medical news, bad financial news, job loss, auto repair and on and one…..

But this guy had a day to remember….

The Kentucky man’s body had made it as far as the operating room where they were to harvest his organs when Natasha Miller says she realized a problem: The dead donor wasn’t dead. It was October 2021, and she had been tasked with preserving the donated organs for transplantation. But the man who was to supply those organs was “moving around—kind of thrashing,” she tells NPR of that day at Baptist Health hospital in Richmond, Ky. “And then when we went over there, you could see he had tears coming down. He was crying visibly.” The procedure did not move forward—the two doctors who were to remove the organs backed out, and Miller describes a “very chaotic” and upsetting scene. More on what allegedly happened, and the fallout:

  • “TJ”Hoover II. They were told the 36-year-old had overdosed and was brain dead. Rhorer says that as he was being taken to the OR, she saw his eyes open. “He was tracking. His eyes were tracking us,” she tells WKYT. “We were told it was just reflexes, just a normal thing. Who are we to question the medical system?” Rhorer is now Hoover’s caretaker.
  • What Miller says she heard: Miller worked for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) and says that when the case coordinator called KODA to discuss the situation, the coordinator was allegedly told to “find another doctor to do it.” Miller recalled the coordinator responded, “‘There is no one else.’ She’s crying—the coordinator—because she’s getting yelled at.”
  • From another KODA employee: Nyckoletta Martin, who also worked as an organ preservationist for KODA, wasn’t present in the OR, but says she had read the case notes, and found them concerning. Prior to harvesting, cardiac catheterization is carried out to evaluate the health of the heart. Per the case notes, “The donor had woken up during his procedure that morning for a cardiac catheterization. And he was thrashing around on the table,” Martin says.
  • KODA’s stance: “No one at KODA has ever been pressured to collect organs from any living patient,” it said in a statement. “KODA does not recover organs from living patients. KODA has never pressured its team members to do so.”
  • An investigation: Martin shared her concerns via a letter to the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, which in September held a hearing on organ procurement organizations. The Kentucky state attorney general’s office says the allegations are being reviewed. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration is said to be investigating as well.

All I could say after reading this report was….”HOLY CRAP”!

Anything to add?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Now Is The Time For Medicare For All

Since Harris endorsed the3 idea as VP I thought I would bring it all up again….

Medical costs are rising, drug prices are through the roof, and we are trapped in a loop where medical services like insurance and drugs are making obscene profits off your health….but there is an answer….

Medicare For All

That’s right Medicare For All.

A new analysis illustrates just how dire the need has become….

A federal analysis released this week projects that U.S. healthcare spending is set to rise to $7.7 trillion by 2032 and account for nearly 20% of the nation’s economy, findings that single-payer advocates described as yet another indictment of the country’s for-profit system and further evidence of the need for Medicare for All.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary said Wednesday that it expects national healthcare expenditures to outpace U.S. economic growth over roughly the next decade, “resulting in an increase in the health spending share of GDP from 17.3% in 2022 to 19.7% in 2032.”

The CMS analysis showed that U.S. healthcare spending grew at a rate of 7.5% last year, with overall expenditures reaching $4.8 trillion. CMS said it projects health spending will rise by 5.6% annually over the coming years, with overall spending reaching $7.7 trillion by 2032.

Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in a statement Thursday that the coming surge in healthcare spending “has nothing to do with improving care and everything to do with price-gouging, monopolization, and wealth extraction by insurance corporations, Big Pharma, and for-profit hospitals.”

Despite spending more on healthcare per capita than any other rich nation, the U.S. consistently ranks last among its peers in health outcomes.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-healthcare-spending

And yes the US could afford this program but it will take work and some changes….like one all individuals pay their taxes on every dime they make…there should be no cut-off to help the rich keep their money….Neither you or I has that option neither should anyone else.

Studies have repeatedly shown that transitioning to a Medicare for All system—as proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and more than 120 other members of Congress—would save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars a year and countless lives compared to the status quo, which leaves tens of millions of people uninsured, underinsured, and unable to afford lifesaving treatments and medications.

Time for the people of this country to get some of the benefits that only a few others have been afforded.

It is that simple.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”