February 2008: How involved should the government be in our health care system?
Hillary Clinton's commission sought to radically alter the distribution of health care and was soundly shot down. Currently, Michael Moore is aiming his sensationalist attack on the system, to mixed reviews. All of us have our stories about hospitals and HMOs and managed care, but is there a place for more government intervention into the system (remembering that there is already a substantial government role already)?
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Conservative Response
Health care costs are out of control in the United States. Spending is now at about $2 trillion per year or about 17% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is far higher than any other country in the world.
These costs are creating a huge impact on our economy and hamper our ability to successfully compete in the global market place. Corporations continue to see significant increases in total employee compensation while employees become increasingly annoyed at lower yearly raises and bonuses. Employer based health coverage is no longer a viable option and any incentives to provide this coverage should be eliminated. Employees need to take full responsibility for their own health care management.
Litigation continues to wreak havoc on the medical community. Lawyers continue to get rich on frivolous lawsuits. Doctors are forced to practice "Defensive Medicine." Doctors must call for any and all tests, necessary and unnecessary, in order to cover themselves. This continues to significantly drive up medical costs and medical malpractice insurance. These costs must be passed on to insurance companies and patients.
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Americans need an affordable health care system, based on personal responsibility, with cost effective prevention and chronic care management. Americans need to control their own health care management. We don't need government run health care — we don't need "Socialized Medicine." We've seen the devastation this brings to medicine. Socialized medicine results in higher cost, lower quality care, longer wait time and another free ride at the expense of the hard working American tax payer.
The hallmark of any new health care system is personal responsibility. By providing individuals or families with a tax credit, we're creating an incentive for individuals to purchase insurance coverage. Any remainder can be deposited in a health savings account. This would also allow Americans to keep their insurance even if they change or lose their jobs.
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Americans also need to take more personal responsibility in their own health along with their health insurance. Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions are all on the rise. Public health initiatives are needed to educate ourselves and our children about health including nutrition and exercise — information that we can use to help prevent and treat disease.
Americans also need more choice. Insurance plans should be offered through organizations or associations to allow the individual to use collective bargaining to get better rates. Of course, these plans would still need to meet rigorous standards. Americans need the private sector to offer more options for providing medical services to reduce costs.
Finally, the federal government needs to address medical tort reform. The government needs to institute caps on punitive damage awards and other reforms to help eliminate frivolous lawsuits and ending the need for Defensive Medicine.
Americans and American business need health care reform to improve medical care and reduce medical costs. Americans do not need another inefficient and overly expensive government institution telling us what to do with our own lives and our money.
— Editor
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Liberal Response
There are a staggering 45 million Americans without health insurance in the United States. Even worse, nine million are children. Most Americans want and need health insurance; many cannot afford insurance, cannot get insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or lost their insurance because they lost their job. With insurance premium skyrocketing and worker salaries remaining stagnant, people are trapped; there are few choices for covering all Americans under a private health insurance company.
Should the government step in and insure that all Americans are offered insurance by the private sector? Consider that the United States is ranked 37th in the world in health care performance by the World Health Organization (WHO). The nation is facing health threats from epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases along with possible pandemics from bird flu and bioterrorism. As with private property insurance during a natural disaster, the federal government will need to step in to provide financial support and medical care.
Private sector health insurance companies have one sole purpose — to make money. The health insurance companies continue to rake in huge profits and their CEOs and other top executive continue to receive excessive compensation plans. Administration costs for health care consumes almost a third of the money spent on health care. If you can pay your premiums and your risk for needing medical care is minimal, you make the ideal carrier. But if you need care, a huge bureaucracy is in place to fight you by challenging every claim.
Many conservatives claim that litigation has a huge impact on medical costs. It's easy to invoke rage when ranting about huge punitive awards and legal costs resulting from "frivolous" lawsuits. However, less than 1/2 percent of our total medical spending is on award payments, legal and underwriting costs. Although "Defensive Medicine" may increase health care costs by charging for unnecessary procedures, it does not account for the huge increases in medical costs. Besides, defensive medicine also allows insurance carriers to refuse to participate in high risk, alternate or new medical procedures. This reduces their liability and their costs.
The only solution to our health care crisis does not come from an inefficient and self-interested private sector. Americans need a universal health care system that covers every man, women and child in America:
- A system that targets your medical needs and not your ability to pay.
- A system that spends more on public health and disease prevention.
- A system that provides families and businesses with more choices for coverage at affordable rates.
- A system that eliminates discrimination based on pre-existing conditions or expectations of future illness.
- A system where individuals are not denied coverage, refused renewal, priced out of a policy or forced to pay excessive premiums.
- A system that provides fair prices on prescription drugs.
- A system that requires individuals to have or businesses to provide a comprehensive insurance plan.
- A system that's portable. You keep your health care even if you change jobs, retire from your job or lose your job.
The United States is the only development country that does not offer and provide comprehensive health care to its citizens. This is not socialized medicine — it's an intelligent and creative solution to fix a broken health care system.
— Editor
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Alternative Response
Health care in the United States is broken. The involvement of the federal government is the main reason that health care in the U.S. is in shambles. The government has put corporations in charge. Through legislation, corporate incentives and coercion, the government has eliminated personal responsibility. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and big pharmaceuticals have driven the cost of health care through the roof. At the same time, quality of health care has hit rock bottom.
It's time to place health care back into the hands of the individual — Medical decisions must remain between patient and doctor.
Below is a list of changes required to clean up health care:
- All medical cost must be tax deductible.
- Every American must be eligible for a health care savings account.
- Federal regulations must be removed to encourage small businesses to provide health care coverage.
- Doctors must be able to work with insurance and drug companies to help drive down the cost of medical care.
- Patients must have to option to address minor medical issues directly with pharmacists and nurses to further lower costs.
To fix health care, the government must step aside — eliminate the regulations and the incentives. The government does not need to ensure the profitability of the HMOs or the pharmaceuticals. It's time to put Americans back in charge of the most personal aspect of their lives — their health!
And here is the clincher: it is time to free the industry from the control of the AMA and other "monitor" organizations that limit the supply of medical care. If you limit the number of doctors, you keep the price up. If the number is limited because only a few have the talent to be doctors, fair enough. But the number is limited, on purpose, to keep salaries high. Let's break that monopoly, get more doctors and health care facilities and bring down the costs by using the market.
— Editor
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