Improving the Health Care, Russia- Ukraine Crisis Part 6

                  There are quite a few perspectives which come to fore for the reason behind my relocation to U.S. If some assumptions are excluded, two entities are majorly responsible for this change in location – 1. My organization 2. Client based in U.S. I would be extremely grateful for these two organizations who are primarily responsible for this change in guard. I am nothing and the entire credit goes to them for sponsoring me and pulling me out of some very tough times. I am feeling a bit cheerful and most of them back home in India are also happy after what has occurred over the last 5 years. I thought I am never going to come out of the trap and the sorry-state of operation if not for this humongous rescue and intervention. This is without any doubt goes to the effectiveness, greatness of these organizations.

                 I powered my parent organization while in India and came to U.S. to bolster the client company. There are many by products which can emanate from this change, but the primary objective is to serve these two, which are the very reason for this to happen. This shift is a classic example to showcase that individuals empower the organizations and organizations empower the nations. This is also an example to showcase the top is hugely driven by the bottom. If not for the huge playgrounds given by these two organizations, I would have never played the way I played over the past three years and ended up nowhere. For the little office work I do, they gave me a free hand to do everything else. The afternoon shifts added up to my advantage to work outside on different things in India and the morning login in U.S. came at an opportune time to break from this routine.

               I extended, stretched, bent many a times but at the same reconciled as well without breaking. There are many injuries, obstacles, counter blows, risks and speed-breakers along the way but all of them added up to the controlled friction, traction, challenges in the journey. These have elevated me to a flight flying in the sky and reach the destination in U.S., as I look down upon the multi-year journey which made it possible. To re-iterate, I strongly believe half of the credit goes to my parent organization and remaining to its partner. Everything else is assumption, imagination. The rotation to U.S. this time is solely made possible by these two partners and everyone needs to contribute to their cause.

               A cause which is worthy to mention is health care in U.S. If I would recall, a part of my last post, when I am in U.S. in 2017, is on this very subject. It is destiny that I should come back and pick from where I left. At that time, I vociferously opposed it in my post - the republican attempt to repeal and replace the flagship health care program of previous Democratic establishment. It is something great to watch for many of us from outside U.S. that a government lays its purpose on an important priority – health and well-being of Americans. To see this opposed by other party when it came to power is very petty and against the priorities of America. I felt, they are not just political opposition but opposition to America itself.

               It captured my imagination as well as many outsiders - about the talk and action which went into making health care more accessible to Americans. But the ground hasn’t been covered much in the last four years which has made the pandemic to strike very hard and position America as covid-capital of the world. Had the priorities of the last government lie in carrying forward the good work on health care and expanding it, the pandemic would not have been so bad. The political opposition must be constructive to the nation and not destructive to the flag being hoisted in every house. The republicans are more patriotic in words and opposite in action. They should have enhanced this health care program which is the need of the hour before the pandemic. But the crucial time has lapsed and consequences are there for all of us to see. You need to work with due diligence, determination and dedication, set an example to next generation and save people from anything evil, even a minute virus. But these leaders have set a very bad example and the youngsters are clueless.

                 The same has been briefly conveyed in my last blogpost before my departure from U.S. in 2017. I am once again back in U.S. and resuming from where I left, giving it a priority, in my official work and outside of it. The topmost priority – I had given to the divine co-incidence and ideals of Lord Rama. Let us work in the immediate future on the second important thing - health and well-being of the Americans.

             Health care and well-being, as a matter of fact, depend more on the way of life and preventing it, rather than curing through medical science in the hospitals. You would be healthy and sound, if you have a healthy lifestyle, healthy habits and healthy way of working. The deviation from all of these will put your health in risk. Rather than bolstering the medical cure, the U.S. need to shift to a healthier lifestyle which is not susceptible to life threating diseases and exorbitant medical costs. The demand comes from supply – you put a weak health and body in doctors’ hand, and they are liable to demand exorbitant costs to restore it.

             If health care costs are any indicator, the nation regressed and de-evolved over the last century. On a per capita basis, health spending has increased sharply in the last five decades, from $353 per person in 1970 to $12,531 in 2020. To put it across, in the sprint for progress and sophistication, the health of the nation has declined. To offset this degeneration, the citizens have to focus back on healthy lifestyles of yesteryears and government has to focus on the health of its citizens with increased priority.

               To narrow down the narrative, I am not the same healthy person I used to be earlier. I had to rely on the medication for anything minor or major. Most of the work I do, and their results has come at the cost of my health. Though these are minor glitches, it is always better to be safe than trading with something dangerous. This is the context where the government and doctors need to intervene, provide treatment at reasonable cost and restore the prime form of an individual. Otherwise, it is always a slippery slope.

             Back in India, there are always government hospitals, doctors, programs which provide the treatment for free to the people who needed them the most. With the recent development of ‘Ayushman Bharat’, which offers services to bottom 50% of the population or 50 crore population, it has become the worlds largest health care program. There are many programs at state-level as well, which directly depends on the work of the state governments to restore health of the working citizens. Simply because, a healthy working individual contributes more to the country than someone down due to lack of it.

             The U.S. need to take cognizance of these facts and need to put health care at the list of top most priority. The effectiveness of the government should be reflected in the health care programs. The coverage of the population and spending on these federal, state programs should be increased to offset the arbitrarily high costs which people need to pay. The scientific innovators need to think about how to restore the nations health and reduce the treatment costs. There is a lot of space in this area to ideate, innovate and improve. To mark the participation, simply concur, help implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its objectives to see the light of the day in the immediate future. This would be first right step in the direction towards achieving the larger health goals.

             Coming back to the raging crisis of our times, the Russia-Ukraine tussle is yet to stop and I don’t understand why Russia has taken this self-immolation decision. If you kill the innocent Ukraine citizens, it will haunt you; if you get killed, it will still haunt you. Nearly 15 to 20 thousand Russian soldiers have died in the aggression since the past two months. This needless aggression is simply an act of self-immolation and knowingly going into a death trap. Let there be peace upon Russian soldiers and better sense prevail upon Russian leaders. When you see as many deaths within your own ranks, there will be huge loss of morale which leads to severe war crimes. The world only talks about war crimes rather than what led you to that point in first place.

             This has to stop immediately and the soldiers need to be called back by their superiors before losses escalate. You suffer heavy casualties when you know that something you are doing is principally, primarily and primitively very wrong. The aggressors cannot show the aggression because they know the defenders are gullible. An example of our times is the Kargil war of 1999, in which Pakistani militants, soldiers protruded into Indian territory to baselessly occupy it. This resulted in counteraction from Indian side for over two months and gaining back the lost territory. The soldiers knew they ventured into a death trap against a strong opposition. This act is also needless just like the Russian aggression. In the end, there are over 4 thousand Pakistan soldiers who attained martyrdom as against 527 soldiers in Indian side.

             The loss is minor for the country which defended and major for the one which penetrated. 4 thousand in two months is still a less number when compared to over 15 thousand in the same duration of time. This simply reflects the meticulously-crafted plan in humongous scale which is ill-conceived in first place. They could have ideate on spreading peace and harmony rather than brain storming and implementing a huge war to kick a self-goal. Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia and the result of the war between these two behemoths will spill beyond boundaries, attracting countries to take sides. This must immediately scale down and both the sides must come to the table without any third country intervening to take a peaceful decision as soon as possible.