August 5, 2002 - Idaho Press: Bolivia Peace Corps Staff Physician writes book about American Health Care Problems

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By Admin1 (admin) on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 5:04 pm: Edit Post

Bolivia Peace Corps Staff Physician writes book about American Health Care Problems





Read and comment on this story from the Idaho Press on Bob LeBow who was a Peace Corps physician in Bolivia in the 1970s, consulted with nearly two dozen countries to develop health care systems and treated the uninsured and underinsured at Nampa’s Terry Reilly Health Services clinic for three decade at:

Doctor wants care for all*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Doctor wants care for all

Health: Respected Nampa physician Bob LeBow published book before crash

08/05/02

By Nathaniel Hoffman - IPT

NAMPA — Nampa physician Bob LeBow had just completed the first printing of his life’s work — a passionate manual for health-care reform — when he was critically injured in a bicycle accident a week and a half ago.

LeBow worked in public health for more than 30 years. He was a Peace Corps physician in Bolivia in the 1970s, consulted with nearly two dozen countries to develop health care systems and treated the uninsured and underinsured at Nampa’s Terry Reilly Health Services clinic for three decades.

But now, just as his new book, “Health Care Meltdown,” and his message of health care for all is starting to spread, LeBow has become a patient in the very health care system he hopes to change.

He remained in critical condition at a Boise hospital late Sunday after the accident left him with head and neck injuries.

And his family is discovering that the stories of frustration and despair that his patients experience, can apply to anyone who gets sick or injured.

“Since Bob’s accident I’ve had to take time to really understand the details of the insurance policy, and the process has been quite a revelation,” said LeBow’s wife, Gail LeBow.

Bob Hay — who has biked extensively with Bob LeBow in South America and other continents — said the latest bike crash was a freak accident. Hay explained that the doctor was commuting, as he often did, from his Boise home to his Nampa office.

The night before the accident, Bob LeBow spoke with Erwin Teuber, executive director at Terry Reilly, about his book. It had just arrived from the publisher and was already sold out. According to Teuber, Bob LeBow said he was hopeful that the American public may be on the verge of tackling health care reform again after about a decade of ignoring the issue.

“There’s a growing perception that we really are facing a disaster,” Teuber said.

“Health Care Meltdown” paints a picture of that growing disaster with vivid examples of how the health care system — from insurance companies to drug companies to hospitals and even some doctors’ organizations — has let down the average American.

The author uses many examples from his 30-year practice in Idaho and his knowledge of medicine around the globe. “Our health care system — or, more precisely, nonsystem — has evolved into a monster, a disorganized, overly complex creature that robs people of their health, their money and their dignity,” Bob LeBow writes.

Where to get the book

Copies of Health Care Meltdown are available locally at Terry Reilly Health Services in Nampa for a suggested donation of $16. Call Bobbie Gamel, administrative secretary, at 318-1255 to reserve a copy, or e-mail her at bgamel@trhs.org. You can also find information about the book and how to get a copy on the Web at www.healthcaremeltdown.org. The LeBows self-published the book and hope that various organizations will be able to raise funds by selling copies.

Hay, who has debated the ideas in the book with his cycling partner for 25 years, is not sure a good health-care solution exists yet, And he agrees that the system is disorganized. “It’s going to have more and more impact on every worker, every person who gets laid off, everyone who changes jobs,” Hay said.

Bob LeBow tells of a 24-year-old single mother who delayed a visit to the doctor for fear of the bill and died of a heart infection; of a 64 year-old diabetic woman who has to spread her daily medication out to two or three times a week to afford them; and a 16-year-old uninsured boy who hurts his ankle and ends up breaking it because of delayed care.

But the book is not merely an indictment of health care in America. The doctor also offers a clear and simple plan for covering everybody — a single, national insurance plan funded through taxes like Medicare that would cover all necessary services including mental health, basic dental and eye care. He argues that the American health delivery system, a mix of private and public hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices would not be affected by a single payer system.

Teuber said that the book should serve as a wake-up call to most Americans, but particularly to those in the business world. Bob LeBow makes a strong case for separating health insurance coverage from employment, and discusses the amount of administrative waste and price inflation under the current system.

As Bob LeBow continues his recovery, his friends and family are discussing the themes of the book with many people they meet. Gail LeBow said everyone she talks to seems to have a story about being denied coverage, going broke over pharmacy bills or finding that they could not get the care they needed.

“Now I know what he means by one risk pool,” said Gail LeBow of her husband’s plan for a single nationalized health-care program. “Everyone in — nobody left out.”



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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; What RPCVs are Doing; COS - Bolivia; RPCV Special Interests - Medicine

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