Catholic Nun Groups to Supreme Court: Affordable Care is a Mandate of Civilized Society

A group of nuns that represent the leadership of Catholic women’s religious orders from across the United States (the "amici curiae")  filed a brief last week with the nation's Supreme Court in support of President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

The sisters have a long record of service in the public health care sector, founding free clinics and hospitals for the underprivileged since the earliest days of the union. Their powerful words:

Amici have witnessed firsthand the national crisis that prompted Congress to pass the Affordable Health Care Act. We have seen the devastating impact of the lack of affordable health insurance and health care on women, children, and other vulnerable members of society.

 We believe..... it is a moral imperative that all levels of government institute programs that ensure the poor receive health care (and that)  Medicaid expansion under the Act is critical to the communities we serve.

Did You Know: Catholic Means "Universal"
Many of the Amici (Latin for "friends") have devoted their lives to providing care to those most in need, and it appears they are not alone in their devotion. Even the Holy See has called health care an “inalienable right,” and the

 “moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens.”~Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus Agrees! 
Dr. Jesus Ortiz agrees.  The state of American health care drove him to create Orbicare (Latin for "care for the world"), an organization that helps the uninsured and under-insured (which numbers about 30% of the US population) get health care in Latin America and Europe, where health care costs tend to be much lower than the US, with equal quality and, often, superior service.  As Dr. Ortiz notes,

"American health care is among the best in the world - why the high cost, and what can we do about it?"  ~Dr. Jesus Ortiz, Founder, Orbicare

What We're Driving At:  Is it Time To Outsource American Health Care?
Dr. Ortiz compiled some fascinating statistics (in this free downloadable brochure) about the sad state of the US health care system, including the shocking statistic that US ranks #1 in the world in cost of heath care, but much farther down the list - forget the top 3, not even the top 25 - in life expectancy and infant mortality.

For those neither young nor old that think this problem somehow does not affect them, General Motors says this is how much health care adds to the cost of each new car it sells:

a.  more than $500
b.  about $750
c.  more than $1500

The good Sisters have spoken. What do you think?

Related Articles

• More Health Care Dollars Spent on Teeth Than Babies, But Diabetes Beats Them All  
• The State of American Health: Some States More Equal Than Other  

Recession Reschmession: Cosmetic Surgery Demand Remains Strong

The American Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgeons reports that Since 1997,  there has been a 155%+ increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures.


Even after the recession hit, Americans still made room in their budget for cosmetic self-improvement:  Americans spent nearly $10.7 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2010. Of that total almost $6.6 billion was spent on surgical procedures.

 From 2009-2010, there was almost a 9% increase in the total number of cosmetic surgical procedures, with over 1.6 million cosmetic surgical procedures this year.

• Surgical procedures increased by more than 71%
• Nonsurgical procedures increased by 228%

Mostly a girl thing.....
Women had almost 8.6 million cosmetic procedures, 92% of the total.  The number of cosmetic procedures for women increased over 164% from 1997.  The top five surgical procedures for women were:

• breast augmentation
• liposuction
• breast reduction
• abdominoplasty
• eyelid surgery

But increasingly a guy thing too...

Men had over 750,000 cosmetic procedures, making 8% of the total number of cosmetic surgeries.

The number of cosmetic procedures for men increased over 88% from 1997.   The top five surgical procedures for men were:

• liposuction 
• rhinoplasty
• eyelid surgery
• breast reduction to treat enlarged male breast
• cosmetic ear surgery

Mostly- but not limited to - middle age
People age 35-50 had the most procedures – more than 4 million, accounting for 44% of the total number of cosmetic procedures.

• ages 19-34 account for 20% of procedures
• ages 51-64 account for  28%
• ages 65 and account for  7%
• ages 18 and younger account for 1.3%

 ...with 1 in 5 among ethnic groups
Racial and ethnic minorities, as of last year had approximately 19% of all cosmetic procedures:

• Hispanics 8%
• African-Americans 6%
• Asians 5%

Traveling for Beauty On The Rise

The recession has had a notable impact on cosmetic surgery in one key aspect: Health Travel Guides reports the number of people traveling abroad to have their procedures shows a double digit increase over the past two years.

Director of International Patient Services Deborah Natsch reports that procedure popularity for so-called 'cosmetic travelers' mirrors the ASAPS report on procedure popularity, with breast enhancement procedures leading the way.

"Getting breast augmentation abroad means working with a board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon who is a member of ASAPS, but the patient saves well over 50%, simply due the structure of the health care system," Ms. Natsch points out. 

The US fee-for-services model has driven up the cost of medical care to the point that US ranks #1 on health care spending, but lower than #30 on infant mortality and life expectancy.   It's no wonder that more and more Americans are choosing to circumvent a system that charges too much, particular for elective surgeries.

Natsch reports that the average cost of breast augmentation in a top-flight cosmetic surgery clinic in Cancun, for example, is about $4500, while breast lift runs about $4,250.  Plus, there is the added advantage of recovering in a beautiful setting.  The program prices include a dedicated Health Travel Guide (chat with one here) and even a logistics coordinator to book patient's travel.

"We have an 80% referral rate," said Natsch. "Our patients are delighted with their results, and many have additional procedures that would have been out of reach had they chosen to stay in the U.S. "

Big News For Big Loser Wannabes: New Minimally Invasive Device-Free Restrictive Gastric Plication Free Webcast

Free Gastric Plication Live Medical Webcast: You have nothing to lose but weight!

If you have been researching weight loss procedures, you can't afford to miss this free gastric plication webcast produced by Health Travel Technologies, part of the excellent Patient Education Series.

Gastric Plication is the latest in a series of bariatric innovations (including the gastric pacemaker and metabolic surgery) and features some great benefits for patients:

- minimally invasive: the procedure is laparoscopic
- device free - no band to refill or adjust or remove
- no resection - no loss of stomach tissue
- greater weight loss than LAP-BAND

All of this adds up to lower risk of complication. Weight loss results have been consistently comparable to the much more invasive RNY Gastric Bypass, or Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. The procedure requires only an overnight hospital stay, and unlike LAP-BAND, which requires a healing period before the first fill (after which optimal weight loss begins), weight loss begins sooner, and happens at a faster rate.

The About Gastric Plication webcast was developed in cooperation with the obesity surgical team of Hospital Angeles, led by Dr. Juan Lopez-Corvala, the world's leading gastroenterologist surgeon performing the gastric plication.

register now!

Bonus: The panel will spend some time discussing another recent bariatric innovation, Green Zone weight loss surgery.

we invite you to check out what we're reading:

Brown Fat, Triggered by Cold or Exercise, May Yield a Key to Weight Control
How LAP-BAND® Is Like a Band-Aid®
Diabetes, Obesity and Superheroes
Why Gastric Bypass Spells the End of Type 2 Diabetes
Minimally Invasive Weight Loss Surgery Alternatives
The Noninvasive Solution to Weight and Diabetes Management
More Fat News and This Time it’s Good!