"Fix what's broken, build on what works."

I realize that my last post on healthcare was in large part ignorant, and for that I apologize.  I have tried to educate myself more on what President Obama actually proposed as well as the comments from my readers which I will use in this post.  With that said, the crux of my view is that a liberal, mostly socialist program will not work in the United states, but there does need to be reform with our current system for it to work.  Is the program President Obama is proposing a socialist program?  After listening to a press conference on Tuesday, and after some research, I don’t feel it is, and I am now more interested in some of the proposed reforms, including the recent legislation that now covers 11 million more children than before, 4 million of which were previously uninsured.  With that said, let me delve into more on why I feel the way I do, and clarify some of the rhetoric that I bought into earlier (this move being something I try to avoid but sometimes fall prey to). 

President Obama gave a news conference Tuesday morning and addressed the healthcare system.  Currently, our healthcare plan is on its last legs.  Medicare and Medicaid are both leaking money and will be unable to sustain the growing number of people currently without health insurance.  The president explained his system is not to replace private insurers, but to offer a competitive plan amongst them, which may possibly drive down costs of private insurers but also provide a choice to consumers.  Whether or not this will work still needs further attention, but in fact this plan is not so different from Germany’s healthcare system which is revered by many countries (click here).  It also would model the Canadian healthcare system.   It combines elements of a private healthcare system with government backing, creating a balance that America’s current system should reflect in Medicare currently, but does not.  We know our healthcare is failing, while Germany’s is at least relatively successful.  Should we move towards a program like this, I am definitely in favor of reform.

Much to my  chagrin, I was knocked clear off the bandwagon of my last post by Buddy’s comment.  More research led me to find that Canada’s healthcare system is much more efficient than I originally thought, and is not even considered “socialized medicine”.  Instead, 99% of physician expenditures are financed through the public sector, which really means that Canada uses a “socialist insurance” program with privatized hospitals and privately trained physicians.  A Wikipedia article on both the American and Canadian healthcare systems cites a significantly greater wait time for some urgent care procedures in Canada.  However, where only 5% of Canadians are uninsured, 40% of Americans are uninsured, and it is this shocking detail that should sober all of us buying into the rhetoric that the American healthcare system is the best in the world.  With that said, there are some reports that document more extensive and advanced surgeries in America which account for the greater cost to its citizens.  Would Canada have these procedures, their health costs might be higher.  

Great Britain posesses a more socialist medical program which I do not agree with.  Thousands of people go without care they need because of the British NHS, one example being here and a plethora of other examples being here.  Research done on the Great Britain healthcare model finds doctors “exhausted” and “demoralized”.  Some doctors even refer to their own healthcare system as “second rate”.  Whereas other Western European countries have a private sector healthcare system with government influence in cases of the poor, full fledged socialist systems like Britain’s is totally under government control.  I believe this is a problem. 

Two points that I made earlier in the last post are still relevant.  Many problems with the current healthcare system deal with the amount of malpractice suits as well as illegal immigration.  Hospitals are legally required to provide emergency care to every single person, citizen or no.  These visits are obviously not free and insurance companies and hospitals aren’t paying for it.  The taxpayer and the insurance customer are.  These are real problems that, if addressed soon and properly, I believe would cause substantial decreases in healthcare costs.  Although some articles state capping malpractice suits as a non-factor in healthcare cost inflation, the amount required to pay for malpractice insurance is passed directly to the patients.  This naturally raises premiums.  

The bottom line is this:  America’s healthcare system is definitely failing and needs substantial change.  Countries like Canada and Germany provide good examples of efficient but flawed systems that we can learn from.  We should each take steps now to ensure a better standard of living for ourselves and our loved ones.

A socialist Health care

To catch up on this topic, click here. Are we really going to let this happen folks? England and Canada hate their health care systems. One citizen claimed her husband had to wait a year and a half to see a dermatologist, since there was only one in the entire city. And now an entire news station turns the reigns over to The One (President Obama). It is only going to be a matter of time until we adopt a socialist health care plan which will be the worst possible move we can make. We must take action to cut off the head of the leftist political monster we call the Obama Administration.

Most of the reason why health care costs are so expensive are because of the cost of malpractice and the nature of medicine itself. I believe that were people to stop suing doctors when medicine fails (and it will always fail in the end) then our premiums would definitely be lower than they are. Let’s face it: Insurance companies are here to make a profit. If they have to jack up their premiums to pay the bills that were jacked up because of increasing health care costs that were jacked up because of doctors increasing rates that were jacked up because they had to afford malpractice insurance, then that’s what’s going to happen for them to stay in business. On top of this, medicine is a cutting edge technology folks. It’s going to be expensive when we are dealing with cellular, atomic, and biological systems. Not everyone is going to be able to afford the best policies. Am I faulting those who do not have health insurance? Not at all. But if you think that you can’t get into see a doctor now, imagine when every Tom, Dick and Harry can get in line before you.
On top of this, medicine has been quantified by economists who believe it should be (click here to read the New Yorker article). Every procedure is different, and every patient is different. The hospital is not a conveyor belt. Doctor’s should be able to determine their own costs for procedures, and not insurance companies.

People drive to perfection in a capitalist society. Unbridled capitalism is wrong, but what we need is competition people. That keeps costs down, and also allows for progress. If you want the best people for your doctors, then they need to be able to pursue the top of the income ladder. Otherwise, many people will leave the health field.

Marxism is great in theory, but has NEVER WORKED IN PRACTICE. EVER EVER EVER. It failed in the USSR. It failed in China. It failed in the LDS Church. It will fail in America.
I am interested to hear your views, even if they are contrary to my own.