Study

Are all children equally worthy of medical care in the United States?  Apparently not, according to yet another study examining discrimination against children - published 12/5/2011 in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine - in this case, children on public health programs vs. children on private insurance - at specialty clinics affiliated with academic medical centers (AMCs).

(You see, speciality clinics affiliated with AMCs are supposed to be the unbiased providers of pediatric and adolescent care vs specialty clinics that are not.  They're supposed to be "the safety net" - and the safety net that makes our present system defensible.)

But now that idea, too, is unraveling.

Science news reports here as to how researchers posing as moms telephoned for specialty medical appointments for their children at these two types of clinics in Cook County, Illinois.  Researchers found:

1.  While non-academically affiliated clinics do discriminate more (your chances of getting your Medicaid CHIP child an appointment, 45% lower if you call a non-academically affiliated clinic),

2.  Academically affiliated clinics still discriminate, also favoring children with private insurance.  For although you have a greater likelihood of getting an appointment for your child on a public insurance program at an AMC, your child's wait time will still be 40 days longer, on average, than a child with private insurance.

Recommendations?

Researchers think targeted resource allocations for AMCs should be dependent on equitable appointment and wait times.  Science News also suggests they up payments to Medicaid providers for children.

Both sounding like reasonable conclusions to this blogger.  However, if they passed an equitable bill like H.R. 676 (and that's a bill you can really read and understand), well, we wouldn't need to horse around with any of this nonsense, would we!  That is, the entire sorry, pathetic, disgraceful subject, in the United States of America, as to whether some humans, let alone children, deserve better medical care than other children or humans, would be finished, once and for all!  Including speciality clinics that are not AMC affiliated.

Nail the coffins for that baby instead (of a human baby).  Give everyone the same medical treatment:  the medical treatment doctors are trained to provide to any human being in medical school.  Open an improved Medicare to the entire country and, throw these Pirates of the Health Care-ibbean overboard for good!

From the Austin Lounge Lizards:



By the way, out of the estimated 45,000 Americans who die every year because they lack adequate access to health care, how many are minors?