We live in the richest country on Earth. We can afford to spend almost a billion dollars every two days on a war in Iraq. We can afford tax cuts for Americans already so rich that they will never, ever want for anything in their entire lives.
Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
If his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.
Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.
Some poor children have no dental coverage at all. Others travel three hours to find a dentist willing to take Medicaid patients and accept the incumbent paperwork. And some, including Deamonte's brother, get in for a tooth cleaning but have trouble securing an oral surgeon to fix deeper problems.
In spite of efforts to change the system, fewer than one in three children in Maryland's Medicaid program received any dental service at all in 2005, the latest year for which figures are available from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Thank goodness that complicated commie plot to give all Americans health care, you know, the one that commie Hillary Clinton tried to foist off on us, failed. Thank goodness we left healt care to the invisible hand of the market. The free market that always works efficiently to provide what is most valued. We apparently value war and tax cuts for the richest few a hell of a lot more than we valued Deamonte Driver.
7 comments:
Dental care and optical care are often the first line of preventative medicine. A good dentist or optician can detect the early signs of other health problems. Of course, since most health plans don't cover these things, they are left to become problems that get addressed, at great expense and horrific human cost, at the emergency room.
What wonderful efficiency. What a demonstration of American superiority.
It is shameful.
cgreen
since communicable diseases are not being screened for ,TB ,influenza,and hepatitus can be passed to ANYBODY even the super wealthy...germs dont differentiate income
boy the leaders are dumb
sittenpretty
Pediatric dental care in the US is awful. Cuba far, far exceeds us in this crucial area. I remember a lecture in 1980 where a sociologist visited Cuba. He had done his dissertation work in Baltimore with 'blue collar' people. He said one of his markers was the rottenness of the childdrens' teeth. He said he saw no such cases in Cuba. I believe pediatric dental visits are required by law in Cuba. Also, Medicaid dentists don't always do what's right. There's a woman and her 8 yr old living in my house, she has Medicaid, it takes her nearly all day for a dental visit for her son, and the dentist has NEVER filled a cavity, or given a he saw no such cases in Cuba. I believe pediatric dental visits are required by law in Cuba. Also, Medicaid dentists don't always do what's right. There's a woman and her 8 yr old living in my house, she has Medicaid, it takes her nearly all day for a dental visit for her son, and the dentist has NEVER filled a cavity, or given a comp. toothbrush. Bet he gets his Medicaid reembursement, though. My Bro-in-law practices pediatric dentistry in St. Marys county in MD, the year he passed his boards, he was one of two. U of Md is the oldest dental school in the US, and yet the state of MD dental board certifies 2-4 new pediatric denists a year. What a fucked up place! comp. toothbrush. Bet he gets his Medicaid reembursement, though. My Bro-in-law practices pediatric dentistry in St. Marys county in MD, the year he passed his boards, he was one of two. U of Md is the oldest dental school in the US, and yet the state of MD dental board certifies 2-4 new pediatric denists a year. What a fucked up place!
Pardon my French, but this is a fucking outrage.
I would like to kick Bush's teeth in!
The death of any child through poverty is unacceptable. With the amount of time I spend with (other people's) kids this is something very close to my heart.
One element of poverty that is so easy to combat though is health care that is free at the point of contact and any government that fails to provide this should hang its head in shame.
Off topic, but Hecate, I think you might enjoy this
http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Editorial&storyid=182519
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