‘Grey’s Anatomy’ meets universal health care
By
Kristi Lafree |
IDS
POSTED AT
08:25 PM ON Nov. 12, 2009
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Universal health care is a pretty big deal.
But for many of IU’s less concerned members of society, “Grey’s Anatomy” is a bigger deal. It’s an accurate representation of the typical American hospital setting, you know.
I wonder if the “Grey’s” fanatics among us realize how their beloved show could change if the House’s recently passed health care bill is approved by the Senate.
Let’s start with a little exercise: Picture your favorite “Grey’s” doctor. Is it overdramatic Meredith? Overzealous Christina? What about the super-annoying Lexi-pedia?
You may have noticed how I didn’t include Izzie’s name above. That’s because she’s dead. She died a long time ago. Before her little run-in with Georgey in the elevator.
Why? Simple. She was just another number. Her advanced form of cancer wasn’t treated with the advanced medicine it could have been, had she the right to choose her insurer.
Under the government-run system, the overall costs are more important than the individual needs of the patient.
Everyone with cancer gets the same care, but that type of care is greatly depleted until the government can afford to offer it to everyone.
And under the new system, she had to wait to get any treatment at all. All the new hoops she had to jump through cost her life.
I didn’t include McSteamy or McDreamy as options, either. They don’t work at Seattle Grace anymore. The plastic surgery and neuro units were cut.
Why? They were too specialized and too expensive. The hospital doesn’t have the budget for these important medical practices anymore. Under the employer-based payment system they had before, the hospital had the funding necessary to offer these services. But not now.
With Derek no longer a doctor, it’s safe to bet Meredith killed herself. Or, to create a spinoff show, she ran off with someone she met at a bar.
But no one watches the show for Meredith. It’s the hardcore Dr. Bailey that keeps us tuning in.
Well, she’s gone, too. The hospital didn’t have the funds to improve its technology. Seattle Grace, like other hospitals across the U.S., no longer has an edge in medical technology on international competition. And since Bailey’s all about being the best, she shipped off to Asia.
I know what you’re thinking. With Bailey gone, the internship program will suffer.
Wrong. There are no interns. There’s no incentive for young people to enter the medical field anymore. The government-run system drastically reduces the salary of doctors, which is needed to offset the high expenses of medical school and running one’s own practice.
America’s medical field is no longer about constant improvement and doing the best for the patient; it’s simply about providing a low, but identical, level of care for everyone. America’s brightest college students want a challenge, so they’ve chosen a new field of study.
Sorry to burst your “Grey’s” bubble, but this is reality, after all. And with universal health care, the reality is that America’s hospitals are no longer what they used to be.
“ER” should be out on DVD soon.