This is the flat, unadorned reality of 2006 America:
PRINCETON, NJ -- Two-thirds of Americans say they personally worry "a great deal" about the availability and affordability of healthcare, according to the latest Gallup Poll, making that issue the most worrisome among a dozen included in the poll.I see it every day. I hear it every day. It permeates my profession. (see my post below about the United HealthCare ripoff on Sat. March 11, 2006).
Fixing health care in America is a multi-step process.
1. Step one is to recapture the House of Representatives with a comfortable majority of Democrats. The ethos of the Republican majority is diametrically opposed to health care reform. Or, I should say, their idea of health care reform is more profits for the insurance company CEO's. Control of the Senate would be a plus, but there are probably enough Republican Senators that would do the right thing when nip comes to tuck.
2. Step two, which should commence in the Spring of 2007, would be the crafting of iron clad Health Care reform legislation, legislation that is veto proof. There is no reason for there to be private management of health care. The experience that Krugman and Wells describe of the debacle when Medicare was turned over to HMO's indicates that we are better of with government administration, in spite of the cries of the capitalists. Compare 2-3% overhead for non HMO Medicare (and non HMO Medicaid) with 25-30% overhead for United HealthCare as I pointed out.
3. Conversion of the Health Care industry to a single payer, government administered program. It is the only way. Conversion to a single payer pharmacy program that could bargain with the drug industry. (c.f. the experience with the Veterns Administration and with, of course, Canada.)
This, of course, is a rational plan. It is not, under any circumstances what will happen. Why? because we are in the mortal grip of those who have too much money, and want much, much more.
Its as simple as that
2 comments:
I agree completely that major reforms of our healthcare system are neccessary. It is litteraly a matter of life and death. In fact my grand-mother was killed by the modern American healthcare system. If you want to split hairs you could say that they just "let people die," but those people, like my grand-mother, are just as dead as if they had shot them so the distinction is kind of lost on me.
The problem we have is that the right has so thoroughly poisoned public discourse on this issue that SP is going to be hard to pass. My view is that SP has as little chance of passing as the Estate Tax had of being repealed. Of course the Republicans realized this and didn't try to repeal the Estate Tax, instead they repealed something called the "Death Tax." So Dems shouldn't talk about SP, instead they should just call it something else.
My favorite in the up coming Senate race, Allan Lichtman, is fond of pushing "Universal Coverage." He's not fully in support of SP because he understands the big-money opposition to it, but he wants to expand existing government programs to make sure all of those now uninsured get access to good healthcare. I think those kinds of policies will gradually begin weening our country off of privatized healthcare.
Personally I believe that some kind of SP system is inevitable, the only question is how long it takes us to get there. To make the maximum progress we will need fighters in the Congress and that's why I like Allan. He's very progressive and understands that we won't get anywhere against the radical right unless we are willing to take the fight to them.
Theo,
Thanks for your wisdom. I've thrown my support behind Cardin but will, of course, support whatever Democrat makes it through the primaries. You correct about big money. I'm trying to think when America moved over the line from a decent society to one that was obsessed with money. I would hypothesize that it was in the 1980's with Reagan, but it could have been earlier. I can say for sure that during the 60's it wasn't that way.
What you are saying is that we need a sea change in our social sensibilities. Hopefully that change will come and hopefully it won't be too traumatic. Unfortunately, it might be.
I should tell you about the father that screamed at me on the phone tonight because he had to pay $90 for an amoxicillin Rx that I didn't even Rx. The system is broken. Hopefully he will vote Democratic in the next election
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