With the recent launch of the Affordable Care Act, both supporters and detractors alike are watching to see how Obamacare will play out among the public. Dr. Rothman has written a letter to President Obama outlining an alternative domestic healthcare reform that will truly make an impact on the people (actual letter can be seen below).
Dear President Obama,
I am writing to you, not only as a concerned citizen, but also as a holistically oriented medical doctor with hands on experience within the healthcare system. With the onset of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, I can tell you that I am apprehensive that Obamacare, while its intentions are “for the people”, the pharmaceutical companies will be the ones who come out on top. With more available access to healthcare coverage, patients will feel incentivized to utilize prescription medication for any and all symptoms and diagnoses. Gone will be the days where you use a heating pad for sore muscles, and other “common sense” solutions to frequently encountered symptoms; instead you may be prescribed unnecessary medication or be subjected to expensive and unneeded diagnostic tests. You must remember, President Obama, that healthcare insurance was originally created to be for catastrophic situations that could bankrupt individuals and destroy families. Unfortunately, modern health insurance more closely resembles a “service contract” and more access to these often unneeded and over utilized services will increase the demand for these high-tech medical interventions, thus increasing costs.
The real issue with healthcare in America today is that we need a transformation in our nation’s lifestyle. For this reason, I suggest we instill a new policy where we follow the simple rules our mothers taught us and call it “Your Mama Care”. The first rule our mother’s taught us was to eat well. Obesity remains to be the biggest threat to the health of the American people and is the harbinger of a multitude of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. We must be diligent and wise in educating our people about the importance of eliminating fast foods, sugar, and artificial preservatives from our diets. We must finally abandon the scientifically unsound “low-fat”, supposedly “heart-healthy” diet and implore families to adopt eating habits full of organic meats and vegetables. The second rule we must follow is to get plenty of sleep. A minimum of 7-8 hours will help provide the needed processes of regeneration and repair to fuel our brains and vital organs to function with peak performance. And finally, our mother’s always taught us to go outside for fresh air. Natural sunlight is critical to our body’s health. We cannot continue to subsist on artificial lights and light filtered through your car or office windows. Real, natural, unfiltered light in the form of sunshine not only provides immune system enhancing levels of vitamin D, but also helps regulate all immune system, hormonal system and nervous system activities in the body. If we really want to reduce health care costs, then we all need to be healthier and without proper diet, proper sleep and adequate sunlight there is no chance for an individual, let alone, a nation to be healthy.
“Your Mama Care” will not only drastically improve the overall health of Americans, but also of their wallets. A good example of this is a patient I saw in follow up last week; I originally met with this patient just a few short weeks ago. This patient is a 70 year old woman who had been taking prescription medication for diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. She had been working tirelessly to improve her health, taking care to eat her low-fat, “heart-healthy” diet as currently recommended by ubiquitous “experts” relying on information released to the general public by big corporations in the food, pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals industries. Mr. President, you must be warned and made aware that most of the nutritional information espoused in the mainstream is based on flawed and biased research and publications that are highly influenced by those companies that benefit from widespread illness and obesity.
Consequently, my patient had been careful to eat plenty of low fat, “heart-healthy” frequent, small meals: things like steel cut oats for breakfast, lots of fruit (because “ it good for her immune system”), low fat rice cakes for snacks, and meals geared for a low fat, low cholesterol diet. At our very first visit, I instructed her to restrict herself to eating only 3 meals a day because every time she eats, her body releases insulin which was one of the major underlying causes of her diabetes and high blood pressure. She was also instructed to drink only spring water and cut out all sugar and carbohydrates from her diet. Instead, she was advised that each and every meal should consist of adequate amounts of fish, organic meat, eggs, cheese or poultry and as much low starch vegetables as she wanted. And finally, I had her stop all of her diabetes medication. At first, she was extremely hesitant, but I encouraged her to call me the very next day to review her blood sugar readings. After only a few days on this program, her blood sugar levels, which were originally averaging 150 with the medication, were down to a healthy 110 without any insulin! On her second visit (two weeks later) I instructed her to cease her high blood pressure and cholesterol medications as well. Just 2 months into following my “Your Momma Care” recommendations, this patient has lost 15 pounds, her blood pressure and blood sugar are normal, she has more energy, is sleeping better, and her aches and pains have improved significantly. Not only has this patient markedly improved her health, she will no longer need to pay for expensive, monthly prescription medication. Additionally, her risk for developing future life and health threatening diseases has been significantly reduced.
President Obama, if you would like to speak more about my ideas to reform Obamacare and transition to “Your Momma Care” and truly make the Affordable Care Act, affordable to the American people, please give me a call. Together, we can make a difference and I know that is what you’re striving for.
Sincerely Yours,
Michael E. Rothman, M.D., FACEP, Medical Director
