A Few Comments On National Health Care

Hole In My Heart seemed like a singularly appropriate metaphor for our damaged heath care system so I chose as the image for today's post. There isn't much else which can be said so on with today's rant...
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I don't have the answers to fix the health care situation in the United States but one thing I think we can ALL agree upon--whether we're Democrat or Republican--the system is broken and it needs to be fixed before it drags the entire economy down. Some people lay the blame at the feet of illegal immigrants and that may be a contributing factor but there is a lot more going on. Not so long ago when inflation was at record lows medical costs were going up by over twenty per cent a year. Seems rather odd--doesn't it? At the same time insurance companies raise their premiums, reduce their benefits and pay outs to doctors and hospitals. One company went so far as to structure bonuses for employees in proportion to the number of claims they could deny. (It's all a matter of public record folks if you take the time to look for the facts.)
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Now we have a proposal for universal health care in the United States and, judging by the reaction from a lot of quarters, you'd think that men, women and children were being kidnapped off the streets to be gassed in concentration camps. Is the President's plan a good one? I don't know--I haven't read the 900 PAGE document and I'm not sure I'd understand it if I did. (Frankly, I'm not sure anyone could understand the thing completely.) Here's what I find particularly disturbing though--and that's the number of people who seem to want to stop debate by shouting and causing disturbances. What disturbs me more is people who should know better like Sarah Palin (bless her pointy little head) bringing up things like "death panels" when she knows (or ought to before she opens her mouth) that this simply IS NOT TRUE. A lot of right wing pundits are spreading all sorts of irresponsible stories about the national health care plan but that's a rant for another blog.
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Here is what I DO know for a fact...
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Almost 40% of the population of our country is uninsured or under insured. Because they have no or restricted access to medical care they end up in Emergency Rooms for treatment of every problem large or small. (The results of this are obvious.)
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For those of you who ARE covered you probably don't have as much coverage as you think you do. For those of you who follow this blog you know all too well about the illness of Robyn's father: he worked hard all his life and had a good retirement--until his illness. His coverage ran out early and he ended up paying the bulk of his medical bills himself. Lucky for us he had a goodly amount of savings but he burned through a good portion before he finally died.
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The United States is the only developed nation WITHOUT universal health care coverage. Reports vary on the quality of the health care but virtually all countries offer private-pay options for those who choose to opt out of the government program.
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When you trace back the source of complaints against the current health care proposal it leads directly back to insurance companies and their executives. (If Universal Health Care passes insurance companies--and the folks who run them--won't be making nearly as much money.)
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A lot of the criticism of the Universal Health Care bill is coming from less-than-creditable sources. The famous "line-by-line" critique (which came out mere DAYS after the bill) was created by the Liberty Council--a "think tank" sponsored by Jerry Falwell. (I haven't read their critique either but I consider the source.)
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In the end all I can ask is that everyone look beyond their favorite TV news cast and search out the facts. Maybe this health care bill ISN'T the answer but something has to be done and sooner rather than later.