Health Care In America: How Do We Fix It?

brucelewis.com ^ | 2008.05.29 | Bruce Lewis

[mo]

mash here....for the first thing President Clintobama will do is trash this..

http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/

[Leisler]

We had in the States a GOP/Democrat compromise in Massachusetts from Mitt Romney. Basically the companies and the state got together to sell out the citizens. The citizens don't know it yet, as the two parties are still deciding how to carve up citizens and everyone has lovey-dovey faces.

Mitt, our delusionist ex Governor is now long since gone and is trying a different method to buy his way into the Presidency. Think a nice Jimmy Carter.

[Tammy8]

We need to get illegals out of our medical system.

[Straight Vermonter]

Partly genetics (strokes, sickle cell disease, etc), partly violence.

[Gaffer]

It's a pretty simple formula:

1. Limit torts for malpractice (real or otherwise) to reasonable amounts with awards according to fixed tables.

2. Stop giving non-citizens and illegals free health care

3. Implement a savings sharing plan for private and government insurance that rewards the patient for 'shopping around' for better prices.

Simple

[Straight Vermonter]

Turks in Germany are about 3% of the population. African-Americans are 12% of US population.

[hellbender]

I don’t have data, but personal observation (anecdotal evidence) suggests that obesity is more common among blacks. Maybe smoking is, also.

[hellbender]

I don’t know whether it has much effect on costs, but the Germans are far more enthusiastic about herbal medicines, which are subjected to rigorous scientific testing. Herbals may be cheaper than patented drugs, and may exert competitive pressure on drug manufacturers. Maybe they actually work better (in some cases) at maintaining health.

[mek1959]

This my friend is dead-on right! I'm involved in health care and I tell you that managed care was the WORST thing that ever happened to health "insurance". People, armed with their insurance card and $10 could see any doctor any time - never understanding the true cost of their care. We are in a period of GREAT over-utilization of health care. Growing up in the 50's and 60's, my folks had insurance but it was a typical indemnity plan where we went to the doctor, paid a deductible FIRST, then my mom had to go home and file her claims and collect payment herself. The doctor only employed a front office receptionist and nurse. Payment was collected at the time of service and everyone left happy. Today, I employ 2 FTE's for filing claims, 2 FTE's for front office benefit verification just to try to pry what's due us from the hands of the insurance company. The patient is COMPLETELY insulated from the transaction.

Not a good model.

A number of things occurred during this transaction:

1. Mom/Dad decided we were indeed sick enough to go see a doctor.

2. Me or my siblings were treated.

3. Doctor was paid

4. Mom/Dad went home a filed claims

5. Insurance charged the visit to our deductible or paid the claim less 20% co-insurance.

6. Everyone was happy.

The most important item on the list above was Mom/Dad deciding we were sick enough to actually go to the doctor. My parents made cost benefit decisions all the time when we were sick or injured. Being raised in a low-income home, every dollar was precious. Thus, a cough and sore throat did not send us to the doctor, even with a fever. A Axe to the toe did not call for an ambulance and a trip to the ER. Instead, Mom/Dad calmly looked at it, decided it needed to be cleaned out with alcohol (extreme pain, but clean), taped together and we'd see a doctor in the morning. Upset stomachs did not require medical attention, perhaps some cola syrup would calm it down. Ear aches we first tended with pipe tobacco blown in the ear and only if it didn't get better did we rush off to the doctor.

These are just a few of the ways me and my sisters received health care, first from our parents, then the doctor. Today, the first sign of a sniffle and we're off to the urgent care clinic. Bobby falls off the swing and twists his ankle and it swells a little and we're off to the ER. After all, we've got a card in our back pocket that says "$25.00 Co-Pay Required for All Emergency Room Visits".

Bring back traditional indemnity plans, and get them away from the employer provided concept where premium costs are hidden. Allow people to band together to form small groups to purchase insurance. Make ALL health care related spending a TAX CREDIT. Provide incentives to faith communities to help the indigent. Establish means testing for Medicare eligibility, and create means-tested free clinics in low income communities. Finally DESTROY managed care.

[MortMan]

First, we kill all the lawyers... (Thanks, Mr. Shakespeare!)

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Think a nice Jimmy Carter.

What you don't think Jimmy Carter was "nice"?

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

That is true. Are you suggesting we need more Turks?

Why do you think African Americans have so much lower life-expectancies?

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Sorry, your whole premise is wrong. Why don’t you write about what is right about our health care system? Why don’t you look at the cost drivers of the system. Have you talked with anyone in the profession? Did you think about personal responsibilty? People make choices and do without all the time. People make poor health choices.

Health insurance was provided by companies during WWII as a benefit to attract and retain workers because wage and prices were frozen by the government. Health insurance provided by employers is a part of the cost of labor just like dental plans, Social Security and medicare. Corporations get to write those expnses off against the bottom line whereas self employed do not.

You need to start over.

[Ditter]

Interesting you should site the Netherlands health care system. It is the only one I can speak about other than the US the Canadian. My best friends are Dutch and when one of their mothers became ill, she was refused (in Holland) the care she needed because of her age. In Holland they were not allowed to pay for service. My friends took her to Germany for treatment but by the time she receive care in Germany it was too late and she died.

[socialismisinsidious]

Socialized Medicine aka Universal Health Care PING LIST

FReepmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this ping list.

[socialismisinsidious]

Reforming health care will not change the university system.

That's irrelevant. Even if the US still had the best university system in the world if there are no students, if no one goes into medicine b/c the costs (university, med school, residency is very expensive here) are not worth the reward then big whoop...the best university system does nothing if it is not utilized.

Also, the Democrat-Socialist in this country are very class envy oriented. They will never go for rationing of any kind and as a matter of fact under HillaryCare the last time around private insurance would have been illegal. Socialist make the playing field "equal" by making things equally crappy for everyone(except for them b/c they need the very best)

[Fishrrman]

“Health care services are expensive. In every country, a static supply of providers has coupled with an exploding demand for services and the constant rise of new technologies available for diagnosis and treatment to drive the cost of health care services into the stratosphere.”

Sounds like something else that has been in the news lately, concerning ever-rising prices.

Prediction: health care costs are as “fixable” as petroleum and gasoline. For better or for worse....

- John

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Germany has more doctors per capita than the US and they get paid a lot less.

Admittedly the education does not cost what it costs in the US, but not being paid a huge amount is not a discincentive, if the upfront commitment is merely time and sweat, rather than money.

It would certainly be possible for the cost of a medical education to be lower without affecting the university system. For instance, loans could simply be forgiven for those students who complete the education.

[DManA]

Healthcare is a mess because WE have been trying to fix it for 50 years. WE means government. Government is incabable of solving our problems. Take WE out of the picture and I guararantee you we will come up with ideas WE never dreamed of.

[CottonBall]

You make some very good points.

The US has the best UNVERSITY system in the world. Since cutting edge medicine is essentially cutting edge science and education, that university system creates the best innovations in medicine which attracts wealthy people with exotic problems.

While that may be true for medicine, it's not true any more for other fields, such as engineering. As our high schools get dumbed down, so do the universities have to keep pace. And less and less students are capable of studying hard sciences, math, or engineering - thye overall rate has dropped something like 10% over the last decade. While nations like Japan and China and India are building up their university systems and graduating more and more engineers each year. I imagine our medical schools will follow suit in their decline.