Column: Facing reality with health care
Tuesday, October 30, 2007; 9:24 PM
It's sickening, isn't it? Over 40 million people are without health insurance in this country. At least that's what every presidential candidate, Republican and Democrat (more often democrat), is beating into our heads lately.

It's a big issue. Michael Moore made a whole movie about it. Anybody who has looked at our current situation is most likely overwhelmed by the complications. It's no longer a debate. Instead, it is just another rallying cry with little or no substance behind it.

Let's face facts. America's health care system is not up to par with the industrialized world. Although some don't want to admit it, Michael Moore was right in one part of his film: America's ranking on the international stage is pitiful. We're behind Costa Rica and just ahead of Slovenia. But it's a lot more complicated than the simple fact that places like Europe have government-run health care and we don't.

The first reason is obvious. Americans get sicker more often. And it's not because of our health care system. It's because of our lifestyle. Americans don't walk, run or ride bikes in the numbers Europeans do.

We drive gas-guzzling SUVs half a block to pick up jumbo-sized fast food and a six-pack of beer before plopping down on the couch for 12 hours on a Sunday to watch football. To put it another way, Americans live a much more sedentary lifestyle and eat more junk food. That's why America is the fattest country in the world in addition to being the sickest.

The second reason is less apparent to some and painfully apparent to others.

Health care is a bureaucratic jungle. Whether it involves the government or insurance companies, there are mountains of red tape to traverse. This includes laws, record-keeping and regulations. Health care deals in saving human lives and unfortunately that bureaucracy is necessary in order to protect patients and doctors. And neither government nor the insurance companies have the clout to deal with it all.

America's current system of insurance companies dictating if and when a patient can be treated is far from perfect. Tragic stories of people dying because their insurance companies denied them coverage are true, and the people who let it happen have blood on their hands they can never wash off. It leaves doctors and patients at the mercy of a corporation that must protect its interests. And it's not purely for greed. That's just how insurance works.

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Posted by: Dr Coles at 10/31/07 The government caused the problem with health care in America by over socializing medicine to the extent it is not completive, and we want to exacerbate the problem? Kids have health care. The needy already have health care. The U.S. is not a socialist state ( see http://tinyurl.com/2znnvl ). No one is entitled to be given a house, car, food or health care, etc. If we want these things, we have to earn them. The government does not earn money. Perhaps some of us should take a civics class and learn about America. We all have to labor for what we want. For those who need help there are the charities and state programs. We need to fix the health care issue but we cannot fix it unless we know how it is broken. For the answer, please see http://www.InteliOrg.com/ Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 10/31/07 Socialism has at least a decent idea of providing equality among a populous, but it quickly degrades from "equal opportunity" to "equal entitlement." Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 10/31/07 Brian, you got me thinking about something. You say that our system is not perfect, and of course perfection is difficult to attain. However, we often refer to "perfect" as meaning "utopia," where everyone is happy and has what they want and need. But to me "perfect" is everyone having what they deserve. I believe the American system more closely allows for this than any socialist system. Of course, under this definition of perfection, the only knock against the American system is that not everyone starts out on a level playing field; some are, in essence, born into better situations than others. So the obstacle to perfection within the American framework is the difficulty of finding a way to give equal opportunity to everyone from day 1. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jack at 10/31/07 Zagreus Ammon: you obviously didn't read Brian's entire comment. It wasn't about "dogma;" it was about disputing the factors the WHO used to rank the countries. Basically, the WHO awarded countries that have equal coverage for everyone (even if it's poor for everyone) over countries that have unequal coverage (even if ranges from good to excellent). Flag Abuse
Posted by: Zagreus Ammon at 10/31/07 Long comment Brian. Also a waste of time. The WHO and the best brains in the entire world feel that, from a public health perspective, it is important to rank certain things. "Conservatives" object on the basis of dogma. Boring. Get a life and an education and then come back for a real discussion of the merits of various health systems. Everything is a trade-off. Not interested in political dogma, labels and such junk. Systems work exactly the way the people in the respective countries want them to. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Brian T at 10/31/07 One more thing, Consumer Driven Healthplan's are definitely the way to go. It makes people responsible for their own healthcare costs. Many corporations are going in this direction, 1. because it saves the company money, 2. it has the potential to save their employees money because preventative healthcare is covered at 100%, and any unused funds can be rolled over. Of course some years will be more expensive than others. Some years you may have to have necessary procedures, or you may visit the emergency room 2-3 times. You'll have a higher deductible, so it may cost you more in the short term, but in the long term it has the potential to save you a lot of money. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 10/31/07 Jacob, good analysis. The only (admittedly minor) complaint I have is that when you initially introduce socialized medicine, you refer to it as "free of charge." Of course, you later point out that the cost is in the form of increased taxation. But this connection is so often lost on people that I'd prefer to always see the cost presented right up front so there's no doubt. Socialized medicine is welfare all over again - taking from those who can afford it on their own and forcing them to foot the bill for those who can't. Also, the figures for # of Americans without healthcare generally ignore the fact that many Americans choose to decline coverage. For my money, I agree with Tom and like the HSA because it rewards you for being healthy; the unused funds in your HSA essentially become a supplemental IRA once you retire. But if you happen to be unfortunate and require medical attention, you're still protected (and can use your HSA funds tax-free). Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kyle Minor at 10/30/07 Kudos to you, Jacob. This is the first clear explanation of the nature of insurance that I've seen in just about any media (including major newspapers). Flag Abuse






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