Why Reforming Health Care in the US Still Matters

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As the Presidential Election heats up, the issue of Health Care Reform is in danger of becoming an either/or issue at the polls. The Republicans want to dismantle what is there. The Democrats want to defend it. Most Americans still do not know what ‘it’ really is.

The costs of Health Care in the US are approaching 20% of the Gross National Product. The number of people without health care coverage or with inadequate coverage to meet their needs has expanded rapidly in the current economy. The total uninsured topped 50 Million Americans the Census Bureau reported in September. That is 16.7% of the US population. Driving this sharp increase is the rising cost of medical care according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. US workers now pay 47% more than they did six years ago for family health insurance. Third party subscribers, mostly employers, pay 20% more, the same survey shows. In 2009, 62.1% of all personal bankruptcies were due to medical bills.

This is not sustainable. Part of our problem is that, unlike every other westernized country on the globe, the US government tied health insurance exclusively to employment. At that time the US produced over 80% of the goods and services  sold in the world. Medicine was not specialized and could do far less than it can in 2011. That means it cost less to get sick.  Expectations were less. We now have organ transplants, artificial joints, micro-surgery and sophisticated anti-cancer regimens that were not in place 65 years ago. They are great but they frequently come with high price tags. There are many more pharmaceuticals on the market and some of them are quite expensive. Medicare and Medicaid programs helped out the poor and the elderly starting in 1968, but these programs have been under attack recently. State Medicaid programs have been seriously pared down in recent years as  states struggle with their own budget problems.

The Health Reform Bill does not adequately address these rising costs of medicine. Too much relief is expected from electronic medical systems and the best practices they are expected to herald. They cost a lot to build and maintain. The expected savings have not yet been demonstrated. Many professionals believe they will improve quality, but that is not the cause of the US crisis.

Just saying ‘no’ to reform is not a reasonable solution. Punching holes in the safety net system is not an honest approach either.Those who are richly covered themselves cannot afford to stick their heads in the sand for very long. This is every American’s concern.

Rather than some of the sillier issues being tossed around in the current political dialog, we need to be talking about how we intend to address this problem. And then we need to elect courageous representatives and senators that will act on good solutions. Paring away Medicare and Medicaid programs does not adequately address the issue. That is only a portion of the problem looming ahead.

The only way I can see this topic getting promoted ahead of U-becky-becky-becky-becky-stan or luxury boat deductions in the current political debate is for voters to insist on hearing this topic when they engage those running in 2012. If they don’t confront the challenge, the problem will only get worse and harder to fix. Young adults are the most likely to lack insurance. In 2009, 28.4% of Americans ages 25-34 were uninsured. They literally cannot afford to get sick. They are the future of our country. Does anyone in Washington really care?

Tom Godfrey

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