The Great Healthcare Debate

"The Healthcare Model"

Hospitals ---> Insurance Companies ---> Patients ---> Hospitals ---> Insurance Companies ---> Patients...etc.


The model is a cycle, and the premiums that insurance companies charge are ultimately up to the people (patients). Case and point:

A patient wants the best care possible, so hospitals must find the best doctors possible, and they must pay them the best wages possible. This is one factor to the expense of health care.

If in the unfortunate case a doctor makes a mistake, the hospital is liable in a law suit, so the hospital wants to avoid mistakes at all cost, therefore they must not only have the best doctors, but they must also have the best equipment.

Now, the cost for hospitals to pay for all of this is very high, so they must charge a lot to cover it, more than what most Americans, let alone the poor, can afford. This is where the insurer comes in and says, "I'll cover the cost to pay for all this, but I'm going to charge you over time to make up for it." Now, doctor's salaries aside, the cost of equipment goes up every year, which increases insurance premiums, and the insurance companies get a bad reputation because they have to charge the patients, you and me, more.

The government wants to step in to create a "public option," basically cheaper insurance premiums to help the people who can't afford the current ones. But cheaper insurance premiums don't cover the cost of doctor's salaries and hospital equipment, so taxpayer dollars cover the rest. This makes people who don't want to pay for the uninsured mad. And if cheaper insurance is being offered by the government, then why wouldn't those paying more switch over? This makes the insurance companies that can't compete with the government mad, because they will lose business (and people will lose jobs). So what can be done?

First of all, the government can focus on the real issues. You can't pay doctors less, because the most qualified doctors are needed, and there is never a surplus of qualified doctors. The government cannot keep people from suing hospitals that don't take all precautions possible with people's lives. And uninsured people cannot be refused by the hospitals because that creates a human rights issue.

The government CAN address the cost of hospital machinery. i.e. Via stipends and/or tax breaks for hospitals updating the equipment. This will bring the cost down drastically, and in turn the cost to be insured. The government can also address trade laws to help bring the cost of the materials needed for the the machinery. And the government can become a much bigger advocate for healthy living. State and local governments can help by addressing underprivileged communities problems that are causing people to have to go the hospital frequently...this all goes back to: crime, drugs, education, and diet.

The lesson to be learned: People have to get at root of the problem. In this case, that means ordinary citizens need to step up and exercise, eat right, get educated, and help each other out. The basics. We cannot expect to pay a portion of our money to the government and expect all our problems to be solved. We are the government, and that means we can't disengage from the process. And we certainly cannot get mad if things go awry and we haven't been doing everything possible to prevent it.