Health Care in America

It appears that President Obama is about to succeed in getting his Health Care overhaul through Congress. The bill which will come on a party line vote will, in the next few years, provide insurance to 98 percent of Americans through a system of pokes and prods to the existing system. With this plan Obama has made no one happy. Liberals feel it did not come close enough to the dreamed of Government run health care system and Republicans feel that the system of subsidies with cost the taxpayers too much money and could end up reducing benefits.

I am not an expert on the solution to the health care crisis. I consider myself a moderate in most things political and can find fault with both sides of the political aisle on most occasions. On this issue a few things that I have learned stand out for me.

In Canada the wait for non emergency medical procedures is longer that it is in America. However the line for that service is a fair one, there is no jumping the line based on status and wealth. In America, while there are exceptions to the rule, one generally gets the best health care they can pay for.

In the United States Medicare is a very criticized institution. The reimbursement rates for physicians is too low say the doctors and the hospitals that receive those payments. However the percent of dollars spent that goes to administrative costs is roughly three percent. With standard insurance the percent of dollars spent on administrative cost is over 30 percent. One can spend much time criticizing the bloat ofl a federally run program but insurance companies are in no way streamlined in their processes.

Lastly in the United States every for profit insurance company in the land is against changes to the existing system and certainly against any government run plan that would be based on a not for profit service model.

I know that information on this issue could be written down and kill all the trees in the world and we could still debate. These three factors are enough for me. Insurance companies are based on a profit motive not a patient motive. They are against reforms that would reduce profit and improve care. If one believes that insurance companies are looking out for them they are living in a dream world. This is not to say, of course, that individual people involved in the process on the insurance end do not have good motives. However the system is rigged against them.

Were all other factors eliminated the one that would change my mind is this. If the insurance companies are against something I am in favor of it. I feel the same way about Walmart and Exxon. I believe that over time some companies and institutions have earned a reflex negative reaction. For example I recently learned that Exxon spent 10 million dollars on green programs a few years ago and then spent 100 million dollars promoting that expenditure. They do not deserve our respect, they do not deserve our trust. Insurance companies are in this group.

Some other thoughts on the subject include the fact that I do not believe health care is a right that everyone automatically has. These statements are high handed. I am not in favor of national health care because it is a right, but because for a country that claims to be what the United States claims to be it is the right thing to do.

European nations and Canada have government run health care systems. Polls taken of their citizens repeatedly show that large majorities are in favor of their systems and complaints that exist are of the tweaking nature not a request to overhaul the whole system. Critics of such a plan state that people in those countries pay higher taxes. It is true, as a percentage of income they do pay higher taxes. We, in America. do as well we just do not see it as easily. Our higher taxes are is hidden in reduced wages due to employer funded healthcare, premiums, co-pays, and the constant stress of what will be covered and what will not. Add to that the inefficiencies in a system where emergency rooms become primary care physicians for a segment of our society and preventative care is a non entity and the overall health of the system could be vastly improved.

This is the greatest country on Earth and change comes slowly. This is a problem that we can fix. The program that Obama has put through Congress is not the answer. The insurance companies cry crocodile tears about how it will hurt them but know that in actuality they will be gaining young people in their plans that will provide them increased profit margins while the new regulations do not control costs effectively.

This plan is not a good one. I do not know if it will succeed. I feel Obama failed in his promise and that the failure is his alone because of his lack of forcefulness and desire to be everyone's friend. Politicians such as Joe Lieberman single handedly put the kabosh to the best features of the potential plan. While we can hope that Connecticut voters repay Mr. Lieberman in kind Obama now with the mid term elections looming as a problem for Democrats has 10 months to accomplish something on all of his other issues. John Kennedy once said " do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good." This plan is far from perfect---but hopefully it gets us on the road to the better.

In America we should do better than good