Dr. Robert Blake Jr., emeritus professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, will present the film "Fix It: Healthcare at the Tipping Point," 6 p.m. Thursday at William Woods Library auditorium.
This documentary offers ideas about single-payer health care through the voices of more than 40 people advocating for reform. It takes an in-depth look at how the current health care system affects the nation's economy, businesses and medical community.
Blake, who spoke in Fulton recently, is a retired family physician who was on the faculty of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine for many years. In the 1980s and 1990s, he occasionally supervised family practice residents and medical students at the Fulton clinic and delivered a few babies at the birthing center of the Fulton hospital.
For 20 years, he has been a member of the national organization Physicians for a National Health Program, an coalition of health professionals and nonprofessionals who advocate for universal health care in the United States. Blake is a member of the recently organized Columbia chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. Information about PNHP is available at pnhp.org and pnhp.org/states/missouri.
Blake spoke in September to Callaway County residents about challenges with health care in rural communities. During the lecture, he said the state of health care in this country needs a major overhaul and he has personally seen patients suffer from diseases they couldn't afford to treat. One patient, a farmer with a high deductible, passed away after a disabling stroke.
Blake said - and others back up the fact - that Americans spend more on health care per capita than any other country.
"We spent $3.5 trillion on health care, and it's 18 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) of our economy," he said. "It costs about $10,000 per person - two times as much as any other country for an individual person."
That $3.5 trillion is about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Despite the high price tag, the U.S. remains the only wealthy, developed nation without universal health coverage.
"We should have the best health care system in the world, but in fact, that's far from the case," Blake said.
"Look at the longevity rates, the mortality rates. We have shorter life spans and higher infant mortality. Women are more likely to die from pregnancy complications than women in 45 other countries."
This event is sponsored by Callaway County Concerned Citizens. Member Margot McMillen said their mission is to recognize the impact of national decisions on rural life.
"We are an inclusive, nonpartisan group committed to educating ourselves on issues of importance to Callaway County, sharing that information with others, and taking positive action to influence political decisions at all levels - local, state and national," she said.