Thanks for that article Gordon. I've wondered for some time why we don't have a Health Care and Medical Insurance Alert Board here on SI....There are certainly plenty of topics to discuss!
Before 1992, Americans were becoming very vocal about the rising costs of health care. (One needs only to take a look at the 1980-1992 US News and World Report Magazine issues for example.) Hospital costs in particular. Most thinking Americans had some sort of health care, some provided by their employers, but if not, they provided it for themselves.
Then, more and more socialism crept forward, and some people, and more politicians could see they could garner more votes by "fixing the problem" and trying to socialize medicine.
Enter the Clintons' and their version of closed door solutions to the problems. We all know that the programs they tried to implement were a failure. We also know that insurance companies must have really "seen the future", and are now seemingly running the Doctors' and the Doctors' decisions.
The Government has also entered into the fray with Medicare and Medicaid, and what they will or will not pay, and how much they will pay, no matter what the cost....(Yes, I do have Docs and Nurses close by, so do know this is true.)
Medical costs today are MUCH higher than they ever were, and even worse, the premiums for insurance are HUGE multiples higher. Many companies can no longer provide total coverage for their employees, and in many cases, provide no coverage at all.
Insurance companies have made the premiums for coverage for individuals and small company extremely high, saying there aren't enough people in the "risk pool."
There are several facets of Health Care that need to be considered. In the "pre Clinton" days, we used to think that if we had to go to the hospital for whatever reason, we would be in good hands, would be treated well, and would have a change for our bodies to recover from whatever trauma.....part of that care included beds that moved up and down (they don't at home), we didn't have the fear that germs were rampant, that the people who cared for you were actually professionals in their field, and would look in on you every once in awhile, that the hospital administrators had actually assigned a reasonable number of employees to each floor each shift, and not allowed just a minimum staff to try to handle more and more patient loads, plus the overwhelming load of MORE FORMS...etc etc.
I'm pretty sure that it would surprise us, and probably enlighten us all to know of some of the things that have happened to others, and what they had to do to try to resolve issues themselves.
Some possible topics of conversation could be....
Drugs--Cost...no matter if Insurance helps with the cost or not...What is a reasonable cost for medicine...especially if it is no longer a new drug...??? Should the elderly get a break in cost?
Hospital Care--What are the average prices of rooms in various large and small cities around the country? How long do people stay now?
Convalescent Care--Are there adequate facilities for this type of needed care? Does insurance help to cover this, or just for the hospital....?
Medical Ombudsman--Is there ANY group ANY place that checks on individuals who have been checked out of a hospital, and perhaps days before they would have been discharged pre 1992.....How many of these people had serious problems because they were discharged too early? (i.e. bleeding, falling downstairs while on medication, etc etc....)...Were there any deaths because of early discharge? I'm just SURE the hospitals don't want this type of information out, and neither do the insurance companies, and probably not the government....When we are sick, we are individuals, and have no spokesman. We NEED an Ombudsman!
Employees for all health care facilities - what are the competency requirements for various positions in the facility, and especially the ones that directly interface with the patients.
Elder Care--Are our Elder citizens (most of whom have paid taxes their entire lives) to be treated less worthy than a refugee who is new to the country and has paid no taxes, but is eligible for free medical care...
Cost of Insurance Premiums
For those people who choose NOT to purchase health coverage...who pays their bills when they are sick?
Why don't the people on welfare programs automatically have health care premiums for basic care taken out of their welfare checks?
What is Basic Health Care? |
