New tactic urged for healthcare reform -Voters time to flex muscle send message to Congress

March 1, 2010 - PRLog -- America is changing and it is time for voters to get busy and send a stronger message to Washington. Congress and the President are  pushing hard to pass a vote on healthcare  without the collective voice of the voting public or a majority vote in either house.  Yet, the declining health of many Americans is kept on hold and overlooked until reform occurs, and the price tag to taxpayers goes higher.

With  rising numbers  unable to bear out- of -pocket costs for preventative screening and medications, thousands  are defaulting to emergency rooms in record numbers, many getting hospitalized at the taxpayers cost. Doctor speaks out on radio program aired February 19, 2010, citing uncontrolled vascular disease, diabetes, some cancers are preventable. Doctor cited her strategy for cost effective medication vouchers for those with recurrent hospitalizations and screenings for the homeless.

Dr. Zoë A. Lewis, producer and host of Blogtalkradio’s, 'Hospice Radio', founder of Hope
ThroughKnowledgeResources.Org. and bestselling author on Alzheimer’s disease care giving,  asks of Congress and President Obama, "Why do we wait to fix what is broken? If the government  can't  manage healthcare subsidy programs any better at this point, but was able to bail out banks,  with a hidden final cost to taxpayers, why not give health care the simple fix to ease prevention and medication costs.  We are stuck paying the higher cost in the end. It does not build confidence among voters to see the government involved in healthcare when they are already doing such a poor job."  Dr. Lewis goes on to give examples. "What is cheaper for the tax payer: an asthma inhaler, or a week in the ICU on a ventilator, a vial of insulin, or a month in rehab after a diabetic coma? Emergent bypass surgery with a 6 figure price tag or basic heart medications? I see Americans forced to choose over food, heat, gas for the car or medicines. Yet we taxpayers have no choices and pay the high cost of hospital bills as these folks get sicker. I makes me angry to see where reform needs to start now. It is hard to work in a system that is broken. Those of us working in healthcare don’t want  to wait to stop the bleeding."

After one of her recent patients in Jacksonville, Fl told her his heart wrenching story of homelessness and poverty, Dr. Z. Lewis, a per diem hospitalist contracted to work in hospitals where internal medical services are needed, aired a 45 minute radio program to vocalize  heatlhcare workers concerns. The radio program is a grassroots healthcare and aging educational community outreach initiative on Blogtalkradio, ‘Hospice Radio’. The program has been on the air since November 2008, with over one year of acclaimed programming featuring national scholars and experts including AARP and NHPCO, Jewish Institute, and best selling authors. The program has an international following with links to Jewish TV in South Africa, and national podcasts, among weblinks.
The one hour program aired on Friday February 19, 1-2 EST. Archives can be accessed with direct link at www.hopethroughknowledge.org or at www.blogtalkradio.com/profile.aspx?userurl=drzoehospiceradio

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The website www.zoealewis.com is dedicated to “hope through knowledge,” encouraging the dissemination of information to practitioners and families of those with aging, end of life care issues and dementia. Also links to Hospice Radio and resources.