Rabbits, Blinkity

The third world, it seems, is losing their best doctors to the United States (via NYT magazine)

So I want to offer up this suggestion: health care in this country is, as a whole, good enough. Our life spans are long, our recovery rates for all kinds of previously fatal conditions is excellent, and our technology is astounding. So let's not worry so much about making it better. Let's focus on fixing our broken system of paying, and on allowing everyone access instead.

Now, I'm not saying give up on improving medicine completely—research can potentially help people all over the world. I'm just saying, we need to take a step back, and say look, we've got it pretty damn good. Let's not worry so much about quality in the practical side of our health care system. We've got enough doctors. We've got enough hospitals.

If nothing else, don't go to the doctor unless it's really necessary. Don't go for the most expensive procedures unless it will make a significant difference. And so on. If we decrease demand, we'll need less supply, and give more negotiating power to others. Remember, in the third world, overworked doctors are performing surgery using Bosch power tools. If they're lucky.

So thanks to all the backlash, the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided that defunding Planned Parenthood was a bad idea. Good for them.

But as the Feministing article points out, it's quite likely they'll just remove funding at some later date, just more quietly. And in the meantime, a donation to the Komen Foundation mostly goes to buying pink billboards and other questionable "awareness" activities, instead of, y'know, actual research and prevention.* (News flash: people in the United States are pretty damn aware. What we need, ironically enough, is a cure).

If you want to fund cancer screening, cut out the middlewoman and donate to Planned Parenthood or your favorite local screening organization directly. If you want to fund research, try the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 36.3 million out of 41.5 million - 87% - of their funding goes toward research grants.

There are many, many sensible and efficient cancer prevention organizations in the world. Komen isn't one of them.

* Read their financials here. Out of about 409 million dollars, $75 million (18%) is burned in administration, $181 million (44%) is spent on "public health education" i.e. pink billboards, while the remainder - less than half - is used for screenings/treatment and research ($77 million/19% and $75 million/18% respectively). In other words, they spend as much on administration as they do funding research.