3d Health

There is a dark secret about healthcare in this country: The quality of our system is poor and millions of Americans can’t afford health insurance.

Poor Americans receive Medicaid, but too many experience inferior medical care. Also, lots of health care providers and doctors don’t want to accept Medicaid payments, which attempts to place limits on medical charges.

Retired Americans depend upon Medicare to meet medical needs, but there are serious gaps and limitations in the coverage. Retired citizens who are middle class can not afford to pay for long term care services available in nursing care homes or residential care facilities.

Many of our hospitals are managed poorly, have unacceptable mortality and infection rates, and are depressing places to die in. The quality of our health care in this nation seems to be totally dependent on one’s ability to pay.

But doctor visits, prescription costs, and high tech surgical care are placing huge financial stressors on everybody.

The rich are well cared for, the middle class experiences inconsistent care, and the poor have mostly inadequate care-based upon what they get in our emergency rooms.

Unfortunately, too many doctors and hospitals have become so busy that human emotions, compassion, and sensitivity have become lost in the shuffle.

Too often, pills, computers, and specialized machines have become substitutes for the health care professional’s time and attitude of tender loving care. It is time that we do something positive to reform are whole health care system.

Now that we have been honest and open about the problem, let’s go to the next steps on The Emotional Recovery Card. (EMC is my unique life coaching approach to personal and social change.)

Stop and Think:

Let’s stop approaching health care from the point of view of one’s ability to pay or as some simple commodity at the whims of our market economy. Health care should become a basic human right. So, let’s stop and think more about that.

Face Triggers:

We need to face our red flags, and see the private health insurance industry for what it really is: a business that seeks to make a profit from healthy people who don’t need it very often.

These corporations just keep striving to reduce coverage for “pre-conditions”, and they lobby against legislation to extend national coverage to the sick, poor, and elderly.

Some hospitals are red flags, because they are corporations who profit from becoming more specialized, bureaucratized, mechanized, and computerized.

Then there are the doctors who become red flags. Some dance with the dark secret of unlimited wealth, rather than embracing their oath to do no harm to others in desperate need of treatment.

Our government is a red flag because for too long it has submitted to the will of medical lobbyists, insurance corporations, and pharmaceutical companies.

Why can’t government be more sensitive to the needs of a majority of Americans buckling under the strain of our health care crisis?

Face Feelings:

Possibly, the healthcare industry and our own federal government are simply too fearful to try new approaches to reform and change.

I assume they don’t want to lose money, power, or influence. It makes me angry to sense they refuse to face their own dark secrets.

They claim a national health care system would decrease the quality of health care by taking away the profit motive. Of course, they avoid facing the fact that the profit motive is precisely the cause of our health care crisis.

It is sad to think that CEO’s of these corporations are making six figure incomes off the suffering of more than 47 million Americans who don’t have any health care coverage. How do you really feel about that?

And why do our political and business leaders seem so reluctant to look at the pros and cons of national health systems in Canada, the Netherlands, England, Germany and other European nations?

Can we forgive ourselves for thinking, believing, and pretending that our health care system based on profit is better than theirs?

Admit Powerlessness:

We do have a sense of being powerless to change the system. We remain at the mercy of the insurance companies who cancel our coverage because we have AIDS, Cancer, or some other expensive and catastrophic illness.

We can’t seem to budge certain hospitals that have turned medical care into assembly lines for beds, and patient charts, rather than a haven for love, compassion, and healing.

Many of us are powerless to change the medical profession and pharmaceutical industry, which say the market economy must determine the price for all health care costs.

At times, we can become hopeless or apathetic about professional politicians who are dependent on political contributions from the health care industry to get the money they need to stay in office.

I will complete our discussion of healthcare reform in my next article: Challenging the Dark Secret About Healthcare.

In life, most things come down to the choices you make and whether or not you learn and/or benefit from them. That’s right, it is all about how you think about what is handed to you. Everyone will experience hard times in life, but those who make it through and come out on top are always positive thinkers.

But not everyone can do this alone. You might need a mentor to help you achieve whatever goals you are pursuing in life. A personal life coach could be the answer to a lot of your seeming to be misfortunes. A personal life coach can keep you on track with your goals while monitoring your progress.

The Demand For Life Coaches is Booming

The history of the personal life coach is quite short, but is booming already. Both the demand for, and supply of, qualified life coaches has expanded quickly. This phenomenon is due to an increasing number of people who find working with a personal life coach to be extremely beneficial.

Find an Instructor Not an Impostor

Nonetheless, some drawbacks to this situation are beginning to emerge. For instance, various people refer to themselves as life coaches, without having any significant experience, education, or skills in the field. Thus, to ensure that you are entirely satisfied with the coaching you receive from a personal life coach, consider the following suggestions:

* Select a personal life coach with ample experience

* Learn how long they have been coaching, and whether in a part-time or full-time position

* If you are looking for a specialized Life Coach, such as a Career Coach, Sales Coach, or Executive Coach, verify that the candidate Life Coach has sufficient experience in that niche subject

* Verify that the personal life coach has finished advanced training and has earned certification at least one institution that the International Coach Federation (ICF) recognizes. This federation allows you to distinguish which Life Coaching schools are beneficial, and which are useless

* Talk to several life coaches and use one that you seem to connect with

* Find out if the person listens well and fully comprehends your objectives

* Remember this is about you, and a good life coach will make this about you and what you want, not what they want for you

You should also request that your life coach explains precisely the services they can offer, and the cost for those services. Furthermore, learn about what type of commitment that personal life coach requests. It is wise to avoid life coaches who require advance payment for long-term programs.

Select someone who is a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF). ICF governs professional life coaches, so professional ethics and practice rules preside over members of that particular group.

Choosing an unskilled or inexperienced personal life coach will not result in the end of the world, you just might experience more hard times and be out a few more bucks. However, the amount of quality life coaches is growing. Therefore, with a little research and effort on your part you should be able to find a personal life coach that can help you achieve your dreams.