ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich., July 24 /PRNewswire/ — “The current debate over Michael Moore’s recently released movie Sicko is misplaced,” said Lori-Ann Rickard, managing partner for Rickard & Associates, P.C., a St. Clair Shores legal and business consulting firm that specializes in the healthcare field. “In fact many of the conclusions being made either by Moore or other national and local columnists are ignoring the reality that preventative care and patient access are the real keys to health care reform,” Rickard said.
“Our current system is not health care - it’s sick care. And increased government oversight will exacerbate the problem not provide the solution,” Rickard said.
In fact, a change to socialized medicine similar to that in Canada or the United Kingdom will only lead to different symptoms - not a cure. Socialized medicine demands the allocation of limited resources - a patient gets what the government says the patient needs, not what the patient wants or is willing to pay for, Rickard said. Sicko wrongly suggests that those systems guarantee unlimited care for all, which is simply untrue.
The availability of quality healthcare here is better than Cuba, or anywhere else in the world, Rickard said. The fact is healthcare providers are providing excellent care, emergency care is required by federal law regardless of ability to pay, and the quality of emergency room care is unmatched globally.
In consulting with her healthcare clients Rickard said that promoting preventative care can significantly help improve the system.
“As a society we overindulge in alcohol, fatty foods and other unhealthy habits and the government has structured a system of health care insurance by which only coverage for the sick is widely available,” Rickard said. “It makes no sense that preventative care or pre-natal visits aren’t covered or promoted by many health care plans.”
Policies and decisions made by insurance companies can hinder hospitals, physicians, and other health care providers and prevent them from delivering what they were trained to perform - high-quality patient care. It is an unfortunate reality that Rickard’s clients, including hospitals, physicians, ambulance services and other health care providers face daily.
Our healthcare system tells hospitals and clinicians that they need to provide the highest quality of care for free - something that would never be done in the private sector and isn’t done with other services like financial planning, tax and accounting and legal work.
“The discussion of how to improve our healthcare system is a valid one but in my opinion the issues being highlighted in both ‘Sicko’ and in op-ed pieces simply aren’t addressing the stark reality of the lack of preventative care and patient access,” Rickard said.
About Lori-Ann Rickard
Lori-Ann Rickard founded Rickard & Associates in 2000 after being a partner in private practice at a large Detroit law firm, and serving in-house as corporate counsel for the St. John Health System in suburban Detroit. She is a nationally known public speaker and continues to lecture for numerous associations and organizations. Rickard has published several books and authored numerous articles on healthcare matters.
Contact: Michael Scott, marketing manager - 248-766-9482
Rickard & Associates, P.C.
www.larlegal.com