Exporting Doctors

Sandokan · Nov 7, 2016

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Barack Obama Extols Cuba's Slave-Labor Medical Care
Forbes Welcome

Paul Roderick Gregory
APR 5, 2016

President Barack Obama listens to the U.S. national anthem during a ceremony at the Jose Marti Monument in Havana, Cuba last month. (AP Photo/Dennis Rivera)

Barack Obama, fresh from his historic opening to Cuba’s Castro brothers, was effusive in his praise of Cuba’s socialized health care system. Speaking to a town hall in Argentina, Obama gushed: “Medical care–the life expectancy of Cubans is equivalent to that of the United States, despite it being a very poor country, because they have access to health care. That’s a huge achievement. They should be congratulated.”

Obama has been equally emphatic in his condemnation of “barbaric” and “evil” slavery, which is “wrong in every sense.” In Havana, Obama empathized with the Cuban people that slavery left its negative imprint on “Cuba, [which], like the United States, was built in part by slaves brought here from Africa.”

In the internet dictionary, slave labor is defined as “labor that is coerced and inadequately rewarded.” Coercion is the use of force to get people to do something they would not do otherwise. Inadequate reward means earning much less than the value that has been created. Karl Marx used the term surplus value to denote workers being paid considerably less than their value. Under Marxism, surplus value is the original sin of capitalist exploitation. Seems like the Castro brothers live off of surplus value too.

According to the definition, Cuba’s vaunted medical care system is built on slave labor. Cuban medical personnel are coerced by a dictatorial state and inadequately rewarded from the profit they generate (Marx’s surplus value), which accrues primarily to the Castro dictatorship. As pointed out by a Cuban doctor who served overseas before defecting: “We are the highest qualified slave-labor force in the world.”
Click link above for full article.

A good indicator that Cuba couldn't have a good healthcare system is their former enabler: the Soviet Union was clearly well behind the US, UK and other western nations in the area of health care. Many doctors from the Soviet Union who immigrated to the US had great difficulty meeting the minimal standards to be a practicing M.D. in the US. It is very likely that the "great" Cuban health care system modeled on the former Soviet Union's medical education system, would have the same problems.

Sandokan · Nov 25, 2016

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

One of the most common problems of the Castroit regime health care system are the severe shortage of medicines, equipment, and other supplies. This problem is by no means limited to the health sector. The health care, as other key sectors of the economy, remain governed by centralized planning, which inevitably leads to chronic material shortages and inefficiency.

Sandokan · Dec 9, 2016

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Many treatments we take for granted aren't available at all, except to the Communist elite or foreigners with dollars. For them, Castro keeps hospitals equipped with the best medicines and technologies available.

What is it that leads people to value theoretically "free" health care, even when it's lousy or nonexistent, over a free society that actually delivers health care? You might have to deal with creditors after you go to the emergency room in America, but no one is denied medical care here; even the poorest Americans are getting far better medical services than most Cubans.

Sandokan · Jan 3, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Cuban medical care has never recovered from Castro's takeover, when the country’s health care ranked among the world's best. He won the support of the Cuban people by promising to replace Batista’s dictatorship with free elections, and to end corruption. Once in power he made himself dictator and instituted Soviet-style Communism. Cubans not only failed to regain their democratic rights, but the economy plunged into centrally planned poverty. Cuban medical care has never recovered from Castro's takeover, when the country’s health care ranked among the world's best.

Sandokan · Jan 17, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Many physicians had serious complaints about the intrusion of politics into medical treatment and health care decision-making. There is no right to privacy in the physician-patient relationship, no right of informed consent, no right to refuse treatment, and no right to protest or sue for malpractice. Family doctors are also expected to report on the “political integration” of their patients, and to share this information with state authorities. These are the wonderful side benefits offered by the “free healthcare” of the Castroit regime.

Sandokan · Feb 2, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Under the Castroit regime health care monopoly, the state assumes complete control. Average Cubans suffer long waits at government hospitals, while many services and technologies are available only to the Cuban party elite and foreign "health tourists" who pay with hard currency. Moreover, access to such rudimentary medicines as antibiotics and Aspirin can be limited, and patients often must bring their own bed sheets and blankets while in care.

Sandokan · Feb 19, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

In nations with high emigration rates longevity rates skew high. This occurs because the birth is recorded but the death gets recorded in the nation migrated to. So it seems like fewer people die. A nation with high longevity but with high emigration has little to boast about with regards to longevity figures. During the last 56 years, 2.6 million Cubans have emigrated/born abroad. The actual island population is 11.2 million. The 2.6 million represent 23% of the island’s population, a high emigration rate. This is one of the main reason for the high life expectancy.

Sandokan · Mar 3, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

According to UN figures, Cuba's current infant mortality rate places the country 24th from the top in worldwide ranking. According to those same UN figures, in 1958, Cuba ranked 13th from the top worldwide. This meant that pre-Castro Cuba had the 13t lowest infant-mortality rate in the world.

Sandokan · Mar 18, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Cuba's infant mortality rate is kept low by the regime’s tampering with statistics, by a low birth rate of 12.5 births per 1000 population, and by a staggering abortion rate of 77.7 abortions per 1,000 women (0.78 abortions per each live birth. Data based on official statistics from the Cuban government). Cuba had the lowest birth rate and doubles the abortion rate in Latin America. Cuba's abortion rate was the 3rd highest out of the 60 countries studied. (The Incidence of Abortion Worldwide | Guttmacher Institute)

Sandokan · Apr 3, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Another health parameter linked to infant mortality, is the maternal mortality rate. Cuba’s maternal mortality rate is 33 deaths per 1,000 live births. This health statistic is high despite the fact that Cuba has the lowest birth rate in Latin America. The doctors are supposed to suggest abortion in risky pregnancies and, in some occasions, must perform the interruption without the consent of the couple. Cuban pediatricians constantly falsify figures for the regime. If an infant dies during his first year, the doctors often report he/she was older (infant mortality rate is define by the number of deaths during the first year of life per thousand live births). Otherwise, such lapses could cost him severe penalties and his job.

Sandokan · Apr 16, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Where exactly did this myth begin that this repressive island prison has quality healthcare? These people are driving 1950s automobiles, there is food rationing, nobody except the elite have any money and we're supposed to believe they have quality healthcare? Despite the wonderful health care, you only see people leaving Cuba for the US and not vice-versa.

Sandokan · May 3, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Frankley grandma dies in Cuba during dream birthday trip
Frankley grandma dies in Cuba during dream birthday trip - Birmingham Mail

BY ANNETTE BERLCHER
11 JUL 2016

A GREAT-grandmother stranded abroad after being unable to pay a £20,000 medical bill has died in a Cuban hospital.

Sheila Dumbleton, from Frankley, saw her dream holiday with husband Raymond turn into a nightmare when she fell seriously ill.
After spending several weeks in hospital in Cuba the 57-year-old died today.

Now Sheila’s distraught daughter Erica McCleary, who was originally fundraising to get the money together to pay the medical bill, says she will not stop fighting until her mum’s body is flown home.

Raymond, Sheila’s husband of 34 years, is still in Cuba and his family fear they will not be able to get him, or his wife’s body, home until the medical bill is paid.
Click link above for full article.

The couple vacation to Cuba become a nightmare. The wife became ill and was taken to a hospital. When the hospital find out that the insurance company denied payment, things started to change.

After spending several weeks in the hospital she passed away, and the husband was not allow to see her because of the unpaid bills. Because of it, he believe the hospital cease treatment and let her to die.

Sandokan · May 19, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Risca widow demands answers after husband dies on holiday in Cuba
Risca widow demands answers after husband dies on holiday in Cuba (From Campaign Series)

Ciaran Kelly Campain(UK)
September 15, 2016

A RISCA widow whose late husband died after contracting gastroenteritis while on holiday in Cuba is demanding answers from Thomas Cook about the manner of his death.

Edward Jackson died in hospital at the age of 63 on February 2 – just days after checking in at the Playa Pesquero resort in Cuba on an all-inclusive holiday with the travel agent.

Mr Jackson’s widow, Susan, 61, who is registered blind, relied on her husband of 41 years to care for her and the Jacksons made the trip of a lifetime to the Caribbean in January.

The couple, who first met at the age of 17, chose the Playa Pesquero resort after it was personally recommended by staff at the Bridge Street travel agent in Newport - which they had used for 20 years.

However, she said she knew “there was a problem when we got there” with food allegedly being served lukewarm; staff handling cold meats without gloves; birds being in the bar; and the buffet being left uncovered.
Click link above for full article.

Another British tourist victimize by the Castroit medical system. Edward Jackson has died after falling ill at Playa Pesquero Resort an all-inclusive five-star apartheid paradise that costs more per day that most Cubans earn in a year. The surviving spouse and family have taken legal action, they need answers and closure to their grief.

Sandokan · Jun 1, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

This has happened before and will continuous to happen. The Castroit regime has refused to take responsibility for Mr. Jackson death. I feel sorry for their lost, but this is what happens for vacationing in a tyrannical regime. They took their chances and payed the price.

Sandokan · Jun 18, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Costa Rica rejects high number of medical graduates from Cuba
Costa Rica rejects high number of medical graduates from Cuba - Costa Rica Star News

By Marcel Evans

Graduates of Cuba’s Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina, or ELAM, are “gravely deficient” in their preparation to practice medicine, the head of Costa Rica’s most celebrated medical school told journalists last month.

Of the 138 graduates who failed the medical licensing exams in Costa Rica, 59 were graduates of ELAM, said Ricardo Boza Cordero, director of the medical program at the University of Costa Rica.

According to Boza, the students were largely behind in fundamental areas including pediatrics and gynecology-obstetrics, and failed to achieve passing scores in the 11 exams administered.

“Taking into account that some who will practice as doctors in Costa Rica come from foreign universities, we have to make sure they understand the particulars of our national medicine,” he told news sources.

“We made the decision to institute a general exam that evaluates their knowledge of basic subject matters in the curriculum and clinical experience.”

The fact that 43% of those who failed the licensing exam studied in Cuba comes as a surprise to those familiar with the health system there. Doctors from Cuba, a country that has long been known as an epicenter of medicine in Latin America, have been sent all over the world to aid in health missions in disaster zones.
Click link above for full article.

Costa Rica is one of the countries that report serious deficiencies in the medical training provided by the Castroit regime ELAM.

Jamaica, South Africa, Pakistan, Chile and other countries have similar problems with the Castroit regime trained doctors who don’t pass the exams required for certification.

The reality is that a high number of graduates from the Castroit regime ELAM fail exams in their own countries repeatedly, notwithstanding the close ties those countries have with the regime.

Sandokan · Jul 5, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Alejandro Madrigal, an official of Costa Rica’s Association of Doctors and Surgeons says, “We have a social responsibility that obligates us to demand the minimum amount of knowledge for those who wish to practice as specialists.”

Doctor Madrigal’s comments refer to the fact that a great number of Costa Rican doctors trained in the Castro regime have repeatedly failed the exams administered by his association.

Sandokan · Aug 21, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

This article from Erco Press, address the failure of the doctors trained by the Castroit regime to past the knowledge test in Chile.

ERCO PRESS: Most Cuban trained doctors fail basic test to practice medicine in Chile- Wednesday, January 25th 2012. Almost 80% of Chilean doctors with overseas degrees failed in 2011 the mandatory National medical knowledge Test, Eunacom, demanded to practice medicine in the country or have work opportunities at the government national health scheme. Of the 477 hopefuls with foreign degrees that took the Eunacom test 376 failed. Most of them did their medical training in Cuba. The average point for these doctors was 38.84, well below the minimum floor demanded. “This group of doctors are not authorized to practice medicine in Chile and besides the test will now have to revalidate their degree at the University of Chile” said Beltran Mean head of the Eunacom tests. Regarding Chilean residents, the number of failed tests was down which means that out of 1.888 candidates only 38 didn’t make it, which is an improvement from the 78 failed in 2010. The average points for this group were 74.05. Of all Chilean medical schools represented in the tests, residents from the Universidad Mayor showed the best annual performance since the school jumped in the ranking from position seven to second. University of Chile climbed from position six to three, while the Catholic University once again held the first post. At the opposite end those Chilean schools with the highest failure percentage belong to the Univsersidad del Mar, Católica de la Santísima Concepción and from Antofagasta.
Page not found ? MercoPress.

Sandokan · Sep 11, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Dumping medicine, faking patients: Cuban doctors describe a system that breeds fraud
Cuban doctors defecting from Venezuela describe system of fraud | Miami Herald
November 27, 2016

Cuban doctors and dentists stand outside a home in Bogotá, Colombia after fleeing medical missions in Venezuela.

By Jim Wyss
jwyss@miamiherald.com
November 27, 2016

BOGOTA, Colombia – Since 2003, Cuba has been sending battalions of doctors to Venezuela in exchange for cash and crude.
The program, known as Barrio Adentro, offers free medical care to some of the nation’s poorest. It’s been credited with saving more than a million lives and is one of the pillars of the socialist revolution.

But according to health workers who have defected from the program, Barrio Adentro has been hollowed out by fraud. And they say they were under such intense pressure to hit quotas that they’ve been faking statistics for years.
Click link above for full article.

The Castroit tyrannical regime for decades has been trafficking in slave labor. The regime sees the doctors are expendable property. It send Cuban doctors all over the world, collect and retain most of the salary paid to the doctors for their labor. Doctor diplomacy has become the regime greatest export, bringing more than 8 billion a year. No wonder it is widespread with fraud.

Sandokan · Sep 27, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

In 2014, it was reported by Miami NGO, Solidarity Without Borders, that at least 700 Cuban medical personnel had left Venezuela in the past year and that up to hundreds of Cuban personnel had asked for advice on how to escape from Venezuela weekly.[27] Solidarity Without Borders also stated that Cuban personnel cannot refuse to work, cannot express complaints and suffer with blackmail from threats against their family in Cuba.[27]

27. Vinogradoff, Ludmila, Los médicos enviados por Cuba a Venezuela huyen en masa a EE.UU. (13 November 2014). "16 November 2014". ABC (Spanish). Retrieved 16 November 2014. Los médicos enviados por Cuba a Venezuela huyen en masa a EE.UU.

28. "Sobre Plan Barrio Adentro: Rangel Avalos reitera desacato a decisión de Corte" El Universal

Sandokan · Oct 9, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

The Cuban hustle: Doctors drive cabs and work abroad to make up for meager pay
https://www.statnews.com/2017/02/08/cuba-doctors-meager-pay/

Rob Waters
February 8, 2017

Cuban physician Dr. Roberto Mejides (center) and medical staff at the Centro Medico de las Americas in Merida, Mexico, where he now works

HAVANA — He knew as a child that he wanted to be a doctor, like his father. He went to medical school, became a general surgeon and ultimately a heart specialist. He practiced at Cuba’s premier cardiovascular hospital, performed heart transplants, and published articles in medical journals.

For this, Roberto Mejides earned a typical doctor’s salary: about $40 a month.

It wasn’t nearly enough, even with the free housing and health care available to Cubans, to support his extended family. So in 2014, Mejides left them behind, moving to Ecuador to earn up to $8,000 a month working at two clinics and performing surgeries.

It’s a common story here, where waiters, cabdrivers, and tour guides can make 10 to 20 times the government wages of doctors and nurses — thanks to tips from tourists.
Click link above for full article.

Under the Castroit regime, taxi drivers make more money than doctors and other professionals. A taxi driver makes around $60 and pay $20 in taxes from the rides in one day, and a doctor is paid an average of $40 a month. The regime set all wages regardless of the type of profession. The reason doctors leave their practice and become taxi drivers is to compensate for their low salary and support their family.

Sandokan · Oct 25, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

The regime does not allow all type of professionals, to practice independently. Professional living in the island have a bleak future, and many want to leave. For many doctors the possibility of a US visa was the main incentive to apply for a mission abroad. This offered them the opportunity to escape from the Castroit regime and start a new life in the U.S.

Sandokan · Nov 19, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Cuban Doctors Sent to Venezuela Say They Were Deceived, Forced to Fabricate Statistics
https://panampost.com/karina-martin...were-deceived-forced-to-fabricate-statistics/

By: Karina Martín - Mar 24, 2017

Cuban doctors said they are forced to lie about their salary. (tijuanapress)

Two Cuban doctors who abandoned their “foreign mission” in Venezuela said they were lied to about the conditions of the country, and forced to continue those lies in order to make it seem better than it is.

“I was in the Cuban medical mission in Venezuela 14 months and we were deceived when we arrived to Venezuela,” Dr. Yanisley Felix said. “It was not what we expected. Working conditions, living conditions, lying about what the mission consisted of and our purpose there.”

“The conditions in Venezuela are precarious,” Roldán Machado, another a doctor who abandoned travel plans, said. “We all know the lies that we are told there. We are forced to lie about hospital admissions in order to lie about those statistics that they (the government) want so much.”

Both doctors crossed the border into Colombia last October, where they were welcomed through the US Embassy to the parole program for Cuban doctors that has since been suspended.

The program was created in 2006 by President George W. Bush’s administration, allowing thousands of medical professionals to escape from Cuban medical missions abroad, but it was suspended last January by the Obama administration.

Over 10 years, more than 8,000 Cuban professionals were able to benefit from the program, especially in countries like Venezuela and Brazil.

Since 2003 the Castroit regime has been sending health professionals to Venezuela in exchange for money and oil. Doctors are under such strong pressure to reach quotas that they fake the statistics. Those that don’t reach the assigned quota are threatened with having their pay cut, being transferred to worse working conditions or even sent back to Cuba.

Sandokan · Dec 19, 2017

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

The True Face of Cuba’s “Free” Healthcare: Shortage of Doctors, Medicine and Lots of Waiting
https://panampost.com/nelson-chartrand/2017/09/07/the-true-face-of-cubas-free-healthcare/

By: Nelson Rodríguez Chartrand - Sep 7, 2017, 11:14 am

No government that boasts of guaranteeing free healthcare for all citizens deserves respect or trust. Such a government comes to believe very seriously that the lives of its citizens belong to it. Even worse, the citizens very often come to believe it too. (Wikipedia)

From the onset of the Cuban dictatorial revolution of 1959, public health has been a central weapon of the Cuban regime to justify its tyrannical actions and confuse people all over the world about what is happening on the island.

Let me, of course, make my own position clear: no government that boasts of guaranteeing free healthcare for all citizens deserves respect or trust. Such a government comes to believe very seriously that the lives of its citizens belong to it. Even worse, the citizens very often come to agree.

To believe in the myth of free health is to discredit basic logic and reason. When will people realize that the state, in itself, does not exist and that behind this abstract concept is a small group of individuals who live at the expense of the work of the people? When will they realize that absolutely all the services provided by governments, in addition to being inefficient — at least in Cuba — comes as a result of the work of the common people?
Click link above for full article

One of the most urgent problems with the health care system under the Castroit regime is the severe shortage of medicines, equipment, and other supplies. Health care remain governed by centralized planning, which inevitably leads to chronic material shortages and inefficiency. Medical care has never recovered from Castro's takeover, when the country’s health care ranked among the world's best.

Sandokan · Jan 4, 2018

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Treatments we take for granted aren't available at all, except to the Communist elite or foreigners with dollars. For them, the Castroit regime keeps hospitals equipped with the best medicines and technologies available.

What is it that leads people to value theoretically "free" health care, even when it's lousy or nonexistent, over a free society that actually delivers health care?

Sandokan · Jan 18, 2018

Re: ReThe Brazilian “National Federation of Physicians”, has said, “th: Exporting Doc

Cuban Doctors Revolt: ‘You Get Tired of Being a Slave’
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/americas/brazil-cuban-doctors-revolt.html

By ERNESTO LONDOÑO SEPT. 29, 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO — In a rare act of collective defiance, scores of Cuban doctors working overseas to make money for their families and their country are suing to break ranks with the Cuban government, demanding to be released from what one judge called a “form of slave labor.”

Thousands of Cuban doctors work abroad under contracts with the Cuban authorities. Countries like Brazil pay the island’s Communist government millions of dollars every month to provide the medical services, effectively making the doctors Cuba’s most valuable export.

But the doctors get a small cut of that money, and a growing number of them in Brazil have begun to rebel. In the last year, at least 150 Cuban doctors have filed lawsuits in Brazilian courts to challenge the arrangement, demanding to be treated as independent contractors who earn full salaries, not agents of the Cuban state.

“When you leave Cuba for the first time, you discover many things that you had been blind to,” said Yaili Jiménez Gutierrez, one of the doctors who filed suit. “There comes a time when you get tired of being a slave.”
Click link above for full article.

The doctors who are contracted are not 'free' to do so in the legal sense, and these contracts are indeed ones of servitude. Cuban doctors in the island earn less than $30 a month, have few opportunity to attend medical conferences or have free access to scholarly articles over the internet as other doctors do. In fact, internet access in Cuba is available only in certain government control places at very high cost.