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Cost of health care is world's problem
It's true that no other modern, industrialized country besides the U.S. has anywhere near the frequency of people going bankrupt because they become ill and lack adequate health insurance. But health care is expensive and growing more so every day all over the planet.
There is no avoiding the fact that health care is inherently expensive. It takes many years of education to produce a doctor, and no one would be willing to make that investment in time and money if compensation for doctors were not attractive. Other health-care professionals are highly skilled and must be paid well to be retained. Research and development of drugs and procedures are often risky investments. Medical equipment must be reliable and of the highest quality. Maintaining hospitals and keeping them clean is costly and labor-intensive.
Why does the cost of health care rise faster than the cost of almost everything else? Certainly, market forces are at work, and in this country there are other factors, such as our legal system that forces doctors to pay exorbitant premiums for malpractice insurance. But more than anything else, rising life expectancy is responsible for the continuous climb.
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Other nations have managed to craft health-care systems that provide good medical care for everyone, but no nation has been able to do so without confronting a problem of how to pay for it.
Germans are proud of the quality of their universal health care and its comparatively low cost, but German doctors are not. They demonstrate for higher pay, and unless something changes, a future shortage of physicians is likely.
When Taiwan revamped its health system, it borrowed the best ideas from around the world (none of them, by the way, from the U.S.). The Taiwanese are overwhelmingly satisfied with the new system, but the government is learning that its citizens aren't paying enough for it. The satisfaction will deflate when the people are told to pay more.
Although Switzerland has a population smaller than that of New York City, it might be a model for health-care reform in the U.S. A few years ago, the tiny European nation was experiencing familiar problems: high costs for health insurance and too many people without it. The country was split evenly over a health-reform proposal, but in a referendum it narrowly passed. Individuals choose from a broad array of health plans, sold by private insurance companies. Everyone is required to have insurance, with the government subsidizing those who cannot afford it. Cost of policies is regulated, with the private insurers making their profits from supplemental policies for things like alternative medicine and private hospital rooms.
Most Swiss are now happy with the system, but there are problems. For those who pay, everyone pays the same, which many say is not fair. And, of course, costs keep rising.
Our goal for reform should be to provide care for all at costs that are fair, to realize the value and confront the cost of good health.
WRONG : 11/18/2009
Your first paragraph is flawed. People don't go bankrupt becuase the can't pay hospital bills. They go bankrupt because they can't work. Sheesh.
Actually, you're wrong : 11/18/2009
What about a man whose stay-at-home wife suffers a devastating illness that cleans them out financially. He can continue working, but he's bankrupt just the same. Your counter-argument is obviously flawed. But don't let facts stand in the way of the story you're sticking to.
Referendum : 11/18/2009
If only we could have a referendum on health care. That would be too easy.
Just pay the bill : 11/18/2009
I don't get it. If you work and pay off the bills in increments you don't have to go bankrupt. That is what happens in the real world. People take responsibility for themselves and work and pay bills.
Pay the bill : 11/18/2009
Many of you live in a dream world. If you come out of the hospital with a 25,000 bill, uh, how is that paid off? What if you go back into the hospital and incur another 25 grand? This isn't about paying a monthly bill, this is about every level of care you received wanting their services paid in full within 30 days.
Living in a Bubble : 11/18/2009
One chemotherapy can cost thousands of dollars. Add them up. Think about others and get the facts first before you start accusing people of not working. Sheesh.
Who owns you : 11/19/2009
I currently have 18 g's in hospital bills. I am not losing my house. I only make 60 g's a year. Please don't tell me about reality. When the government 'gives' you health care, they own you....OWN....OWN YOU!
DURRRR : 11/19/2009
You're still owned, just by the hospital. So, you don't really mind being owned, you just mind who your owner is.
So what's the solution? : 11/19/2009
The editorial still did not give a solution to our problem. Who cares how the other countries do it, what works for them may not work for us. I am blessed to have health insurance and my heart aches for those who don't, but raising my taxes will only hurt the country.
None of these from the US? : 11/20/2009
Uhm... Taiwan built the core of it's health care system around the layout of the US run Medicare. Get your facts right.
Resolving some things : 11/21/2009
Charitable giving from those who are willing to give and having churches fulfill their purpose and mission is a start and the government staying out of it and taking everything back to reasonable levels so that the private sector can grow. God loves a cheerful giver. But He does not like those who steal and oppress others.
