S. K. Shabaka
Lifetime member of NCOBRA
NCOBRA International Commission
Like other things we value, good health is appreciated most when we don’t have it. During the year I have witnessed the passing or transition of several Brothers and Sisters. The unfortunately thing about these Brothers and Sisters were that in one way or another, they were reparation activists and all of them died under the average life expectancy age, and to my understanding, all used the US healthcare system for treatment. Well! You might ask: why would that be so significant? For one reason, many of us who are elders realized that the movement has not attracted the youth in any great numbers, which is necessary to sustain it in time. Consequently, that may required many of us to be around for awhile to develop a successful strategy which does bring in the youth in great numbers. We would need to be healthy and alive! Let me try and tell you the other reason!
Let me say on the outset, that the remarks which follow are very critical of the medical establishment, the health industry, or the healthcare system, in the US. However, my comments in no way are aimed at criticizing Brothers and Sisters who cared for our departed warriors and who tried to help sustain their lives to the best of their ability. My remarks are aimed at the medical establishment and suggest that we may need to look at this establishment more critically and to explore alternative approaches to healthcare for those we represent.
According to the Mayo Clinic, heart disease kills the largest number of Americans per year. According to the American Medical Association, heart disease kills more people in the US, than all forms of cancer combined. The Mayo Clinic also claims that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the US. Take a look at the two figures below:
Fig. I is a picture of a clogged artery (not very pretty is it) and Fig. II is a graphic representation of an unhealthy heart. By-pass surgery would be recommended to replace or bypass the clogged artery and replace with a vein from probably the leg. If successful, the surgery would then allow the patient’s heart to carry life sustaining fluids, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the body. We think! Unfortunately, the cause for the artery being clogged in the first place is not being addressed. Consequently, another bypass surgery may be required. MORE MONEY!
Stroke is the number three cause of death for women and the number four cause of death for men in the US. Type 2 diabetes, which can cause kidney damage, heart disease and blindness, is also a leading cause of death in both men and women. Kidney disease is the ninth-leading cause of death for both males and females in America. It can be caused by high blood pressure or diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Why am I citing the Mayo Clinic or the American Medical Association? Well, it’s not because I have any great love for these institutions. But I do know that many people, including many Blacks, consider these institutions credible, and speak the truth. Well, for argument sake, we’ll assume that they are correct in diagnosing significant health problems in the US. If there is doubt, I am sure that many of us know love ones, either in our family, among friends or associates, who may have transition from the above named diseases, especially since Blacks are affected disproportionately than whites or Latinos. It’s the recommended solutions to these problems that I have issues.
What does this has to do with a Medical Industrial Complex, and what is this Medical Industrial Complex? The Medical Industrial Complex refers to the health industry, which is composed of the multibillion-dollar congeries of enterprises including doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, insurance companies, drug manufacturers, hospital supply and equipment companies, real estate and construction businesses, health systems consulting and accounting firms, and banks. The primary function of this health industry or healthcare system in the United States is business (that is, to make profits). Thus, to make profit, the system needs SICK PEOPLE! Therefore, it might not be an incentive of the system to cure or make sick people well. In fact, it can be argued that the motivation of the system is to make well people, SICK. The industry can not profit from well people (however, the insurance companies are trying to with President Obama’s healthcare program. I will speak to this later). If institutions are profiting from our sickness and are not motivated to cure or make us well, then this must be addressed by NCOBRA, because HEALTH and ECONOMICS are two of our injury areas.
Because, this is an important topic, and since space has to be conserved in the newsletter, I am breaking the article up into three parts. In parts II and III, I will go into more detail how this country’s healthcare paradigm is flawed and doesn’t deliver healthcare, regardless of the health initiatives before us. I will argue why the reparations movement, especially N’COBRA, must address this issue as seriously as it does promoting HR-40, and offer an approach for a NCOBRA Health Commission.