NYTimes.com: Wealth Grows, but Health Care Withers in China

[Guest guest]

Yes,

I read the article this morning. Scary changes in China, but not

surprising considering the unprecedented move of hundreds of millions

of people from rural areas to cities in the last ten years. It was

interesting that nothing was really mentioned about Chinese medicine

in the healthcare equation. . .I wonder what the present role of CM

in rural health care is at the present time.

 

 

On Jan 14, 2006, at 9:39 PM, snakeoil.works wrote:

 

> E-Mail This

> I thought some of you might be interested in this article from

> today's NYTimes on the state of healthcare in China today.

> Here's the url if the link below doesn't work.

> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/14/international/asia/

> 14health.htmlex=1137906000 & en=57834801dc23d10a & ei=5070 & emc=eta1

>

> You know what to do: copy and paste the url, in 2 parts if it breaks.

>

> ann

This page was sent to you by:

> snakeoil.works

>

> INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | January 14, 2006

> Wealth Grows, but Health Care Withers in China

> By HOWARD W. FRENCH

> The collapse of socialized medicine in China has opened

> a gap between care in the cities and the rural areas.

>

>

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> Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.18/230 - Release Date:

> 1/14/06

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[Guest guest]

Right, that was one reason i posted this. I'd like to know if CHM is taking up

the slack here. Sure, some of the cases represented in the article were more

serious conditions, like 'defective heart' and so on, ostensibly requiring

surgery. But that can't represent the vast segment of the population in health

distress.

ann

Yes,

I read the article this morning. Scary changes in China, but not

surprising considering the unprecedented move of hundreds of millions

of people from rural areas to cities in the last ten years. It was

interesting that nothing was really mentioned about Chinese medicine

in the healthcare equation. . .I wonder what the present role of CM

in rural health care is at the present time.

 

On Jan 14, 2006, at 9:39 PM, snakeoil.works wrote:

 

> E-Mail This

> I thought some of you might be interested in this article from

> today's NYTimes on the state of healthcare in China today.

> Here's the url if the link below doesn't work.

> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/14/international/asia/

> 14health.htmlex=1137906000 & en=57834801dc23d10a & ei=5070 & emc=eta1

>

> You know what to do: copy and paste the url, in 2 parts if it breaks.

>

> ann

>

 

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Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.18/230 - Release 1/14/06

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

, " "

<zrosenbe@s...> wrote:

>

>I wonder what the present role of CM

> in rural health care is at the present time.

 

CM is very popular in rural areas of China. The really rural places

still have wildcrafters and lots of folk remedies and local

medicinals. Smaller towns tend to have formally-trained practitioners

around, but they earn shockingly little money. Many CM doctors in

rural areas make less than $80 a month, and then have to pay a huge

portion of taxes. I once met a rural doctor who slept on chairs in

the dining room of her friend's guesthouse for tourists- she did Tui

Na there as a way of making ends meet b/c she earned so little at the

provincial hospital where she worked.

 

Near the same area, we were taking a little minibus that served as the

public bus on the bumpy rural roads. A guy got on the bus pouring

blood out of his head, but he still had to wait for at least an hour

for the bus to come and then had to wait another hour as the bus ran

down the bumpy little road to town, stopping the entire way to pick up

others waiting for a ride into town. But is this all that different

than healthcare in many other rural, third-world places?

 

Eric

[Guest guest]

You asked if the healthcare situation is " all that different than healthcare in

many other rural, third-world places? " Well, but the point of the article is

that there's been a backward slide in basic healthcare for " the masses " , the

downside of privatization. Backward momentum sounds the tolling of an ominous

bell.

 

ann

 

 

 

, " "

<zrosenbe@s...> wrote:

>

>I wonder what the present role of CM

> in rural health care is at the present time.

 

CM is very popular in rural areas of China. The really rural places

still have wildcrafters and lots of folk remedies and local

medicinals. Smaller towns tend to have formally-trained practitioners

around, but they earn shockingly little money. Many CM doctors in

rural areas make less than $80 a month, and then have to pay a huge

portion of taxes. I once met a rural doctor who slept on chairs in

the dining room of her friend's guesthouse for tourists- she did Tui

Na there as a way of making ends meet b/c she earned so little at the

provincial hospital where she worked.

 

Near the same area, we were taking a little minibus that served as the

public bus on the bumpy rural roads. A guy got on the bus pouring

blood out of his head, but he still had to wait for at least an hour

for the bus to come and then had to wait another hour as the bus ran

down the bumpy little road to town, stopping the entire way to pick up

others waiting for a ride into town. But is this all that different

than healthcare in many other rural, third-world places?

 

Eric

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Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.18/230 - Release 1/14/06

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the info, Eric. Even though rural health care may be

similar around the world, what is unique for me about China is the

dramatic changes going on in that society, i.e. the tremendous influx

of population from rural areas to cities, and problems such as

pollution and environmental destruction.

 

 

On Jan 15, 2006, at 6:13 AM, Eric Brand wrote:

 

> , " "

> <zrosenbe@s...> wrote:

>>

>> I wonder what the present role of CM

>> in rural health care is at the present time.

>

> CM is very popular in rural areas of China. The really rural places

> still have wildcrafters and lots of folk remedies and local

> medicinals. Smaller towns tend to have formally-trained practitioners

> around, but they earn shockingly little money. Many CM doctors in

> rural areas make less than $80 a month, and then have to pay a huge

> portion of taxes. I once met a rural doctor who slept on chairs in

> the dining room of her friend's guesthouse for tourists- she did Tui

> Na there as a way of making ends meet b/c she earned so little at the

> provincial hospital where she worked.

>

> Near the same area, we were taking a little minibus that served as the

> public bus on the bumpy rural roads. A guy got on the bus pouring

> blood out of his head, but he still had to wait for at least an hour

> for the bus to come and then had to wait another hour as the bus ran

> down the bumpy little road to town, stopping the entire way to pick up

> others waiting for a ride into town. But is this all that different

> than healthcare in many other rural, third-world places?

>

> Eric

>

>

>

>

>

> Chinese Herbal Medicine offers various professional services,

> including board approved continuing education classes, an annual

> conference and a free discussion forum in Chinese Herbal Medicine.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, <snakeoil.works@m...> wrote:

>

> You asked if the healthcare situation is " all that different than

healthcare in many other rural, third-world places? " Well, but the

point of the article is that there's been a backward slide in basic

healthcare for " the masses " , the downside of privatization. Backward

momentum sounds the tolling of an ominous bell.

 

The big problem is that Mao banned birth control for a huge period of

time (based on the rationale that the Chinese needed a large enough

population to survive nuclear war with America). The population

doubled very quickly, and now China has a massive population problem.

Too many people, not enough good jobs and resources. The poor in China

have it really hard, but the poor people have it tough everywhere in

the world. It's hardly like the poor have access to affordable

healthcare in America, either.

 

Definitely the rift between the poor and the rich is getting wider in

China, and it sucks to be poor in China now more than ever. During the

communist experiment, at least everyone was poor. Now that capitalism

reigns, the poor are getting left behind.

 

Eric