Healthcare in America
In response to Juli's comment: " I saw this in an email unrelated to the actual site it is from. I checked out the site too though - most of it is way too disrespectful for my taste - however, I found this "poster" to be a possible foreshadowing of what has been trying to... happen for quite awhile now. Pay attention to what you are voting for! Starting with unwanted pregnancies and people with disabilities(Terry Schaivo ring a bell?) - it's called "quality of life" issues and you think you get to decide. But, iIt's a VERY slippery slope that ends in some else deciding YOUR quality of life for you, you don't get to choose for yourself. The answer? DON'T GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE SLOPE! ALL LIFE IS SACRED - from womb to tomb. Period." And the her FB friends' replies.
Here's my response:
America is too much about "Free-market Capitalism" for a new healthcare bill to radically change the way our medical system operates. America is so Free-market that the post office can barely compete at delivering mail! I think the well-entrenched insurance industry has little to worry about here.
My prediction is that very little is going to be different. The government isn't going to drive insurance companies out of business. Doctors will still be governed by the same codes of conduct and ethics. I think we need to keep in mind the foundation of the plan: if you like your healthcare, then you keep it. So for the majority of Americans, everything will remain exactly the same.
From what I have read and heard, it seems to me that the proposed bills are really about insurance coverage and nothing else. Maybe I'm wrong here, but as far as I know, there isn't anything in the proposed bill about changing the way that doctors practice or the way that healthcare is provided in our country. It merely looks to answer the question, "how do we pay for it all?"
For this reason, while the proposed bill seems connected to "Right to Life" issues, it's really separate. "Right to life" is Supreme Court territory. No healthcare bill that Congress passes will change the freedoms/protections/limitations/etc. determined by the Supreme Court and the rest of the legal system. So like Terry Schiavo, legal determinations in disputes over right-to-life cases will be made in the courts--for right or for wrong--which is all the more reason to have legal documents expressing your medical wishes, should (heaven forbid) such tragedy befall you or your family. If there is no dispute over your wishes, then your healthcare will be carried out accordingly.
Now, the question still remains whether your care will be covered by your healthcare provider, be it a private insurance company or a government alternative. A USA Today article from 2005 mentions that before their legal battle, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers sold pretzels and hot dogs to raise money for Terri's medical care. The article also suggests that Terri's medical care and lawsuit burned through $700,000 of a million dollar medical malpractice settlement in the later years of her life. The article also intimated that there was only $40-50 thousand of the original settlement left when the article was written in 2005. I'm not saying this to suggest that Terri Schiavo's life was not worth this expense but merely to remind you that private insurance doesn't adequately meet our current healthcare needs.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine having to pay a million dollars just to keep someone you love alive? Yes, it would be worth the money. That's out of the question. The question is, where do you get a million dollars? That's the problem we face in our current healthcare system, and the bill that Congress is considering has nothing to do with the type of care we're getting. Instead, it simply asks us to begin to address the question of how we are going to pay for it all.
Here's my response:
America is too much about "Free-market Capitalism" for a new healthcare bill to radically change the way our medical system operates. America is so Free-market that the post office can barely compete at delivering mail! I think the well-entrenched insurance industry has little to worry about here.
My prediction is that very little is going to be different. The government isn't going to drive insurance companies out of business. Doctors will still be governed by the same codes of conduct and ethics. I think we need to keep in mind the foundation of the plan: if you like your healthcare, then you keep it. So for the majority of Americans, everything will remain exactly the same.
From what I have read and heard, it seems to me that the proposed bills are really about insurance coverage and nothing else. Maybe I'm wrong here, but as far as I know, there isn't anything in the proposed bill about changing the way that doctors practice or the way that healthcare is provided in our country. It merely looks to answer the question, "how do we pay for it all?"
For this reason, while the proposed bill seems connected to "Right to Life" issues, it's really separate. "Right to life" is Supreme Court territory. No healthcare bill that Congress passes will change the freedoms/protections/limitations/etc. determined by the Supreme Court and the rest of the legal system. So like Terry Schiavo, legal determinations in disputes over right-to-life cases will be made in the courts--for right or for wrong--which is all the more reason to have legal documents expressing your medical wishes, should (heaven forbid) such tragedy befall you or your family. If there is no dispute over your wishes, then your healthcare will be carried out accordingly.
Now, the question still remains whether your care will be covered by your healthcare provider, be it a private insurance company or a government alternative. A USA Today article from 2005 mentions that before their legal battle, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers sold pretzels and hot dogs to raise money for Terri's medical care. The article also suggests that Terri's medical care and lawsuit burned through $700,000 of a million dollar medical malpractice settlement in the later years of her life. The article also intimated that there was only $40-50 thousand of the original settlement left when the article was written in 2005. I'm not saying this to suggest that Terri Schiavo's life was not worth this expense but merely to remind you that private insurance doesn't adequately meet our current healthcare needs.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine having to pay a million dollars just to keep someone you love alive? Yes, it would be worth the money. That's out of the question. The question is, where do you get a million dollars? That's the problem we face in our current healthcare system, and the bill that Congress is considering has nothing to do with the type of care we're getting. Instead, it simply asks us to begin to address the question of how we are going to pay for it all.
posted by Brad Smith at 7:17 AM
4 Comments:
Brad-
That was an incredibly intelligent and accurate analysis of the current debate on health insurance reform. Thank you for your insight!
I'd like to add a couple of comments for you and your readers (if you should all choose to take the time to read them, of course.)
First of all, the media always wants to frame the issue as "Health Care Reform", when it is actually Health INSURANCE Reform, as you have aptly pointed out. And I believe that the answer is as simple as Ida Fogle's Canadian friend explained: create a single-payer system where all citizens have to do is see their doctor when they are in need. It's true that taxes would increase, but Obama has said over and over again that we would begin to pay for the reform by simply rolling back the Bush tax cuts that provided tax breaks only to those that make over $250,000 a year. I believe that it is entirely possible that there would be a need to collect even more taxes, but I can tell you that I wouldn't mind paying more in taxes at all if it meant that my health care costs would be covered. I currently make $49,500 a year, and my health insurance premiums cost $19,032. That's means that over 38% of what I earn goes to pay for health insurance that me and my family hardly ever use! (Luckily we're a very healthy bunch!)
To me, it's really very simple. Government exists for the betterment of the people. We can debate whether or not it currently functions in that way, but the fact remains that it exists to provide the most basic needs of it's citizens. Corporations exist for the sole purpose of turning a profit. Health Insurance companies are enjoying quite a bit of profit these days. I don't understand how ANY ethical person can see people profiting off of the suffering of others and think that it's okay. Bankruptcies are soaring, and over half of them are due to the fact that people cannot afford their health care costs. It's just plain wrong!
I can't understand how we've let it come to this. It's almost impossible to even discuss it because of all of the false information out there. I've heard people say "I don't want the government to get between me and my doctor". But they're okay with an insurance agent (who's only real motivation is to turn a profit) to get in the way and determine what's covered at to what extent, and even whether or not you can take your problem to one doctor or another! Talk about getting between you and your doctor! Then you have people talking about mandated abortions and "death panels", which are COMPLETLY MADE UP! It's sad. We've allowed the insurance industry to take over our health care system. Politicians tell lies to gain support for keeping the status quo because they cannot get re-elected without taking money from corporations. We've allowed greed to trump life. We've allowed the Almighty Dollar to become more important to us than our own health.
Sorry for the long rant.
Thanks for commenting guys! It's nice to get to know you a little better.
Thanks for the comment Scott. I enjoyed reading it.
Funny story: Here I thought I was being all original with my post office example, only to learn that Pres. Obama used the exact same comparison at a Town Hall meeting like the day before.
Wow, what an articulate summary of main points about health insurance/care. I wish there were more intelligent people like y'all in Congress!
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