Healthcare

“No one should have to die because they can’t afford healthcare. . . If you agree with this, make it your status for the rest of the day.” This has been going around Facebook for a few days now.

A nice concept, no doubt. Who could disagree?

I wish it were that simple. I wish someone could push a magic button, and we’d all have affordable healthcare. I wish Don and I didn’t have to pay $500+ a month for our healthcare insurance. This is in addition to his employer paying a big chunk of it. And we’re healthy, low-risk people who have only used it a handful of times in recent years.

And what constitutes "can't afford"? We can't afford it either. We would much rather spend that $500 per month on something more tangible. But at least we know we have healthcare if we need it. The one thing we would NOT rather spend that money on is higher taxes, and then only hope we would have healthcare if we needed it.

I don’t think government-sponsored healthcare for is the answer. We can look at any country that has tried this system and clearly see that it is far from flawless. People have to wait in line for months or years to have time-sensitive procedures done. The government prioritizes who receives healthcare based on their own standards, so if you are old, handicapped or terminally ill, you may well not be considered worthy of healthcare at all. If you are overweight, a smoker, or given to some other bad habit, they may decide you don’t deserve any medical care because you brought your problems on yourself.

So what is the solution? There isn’t an easy one, but here are some factors I believe should be considered. I don’t claim to have expertise in this field, but I consider these to be common sense approaches:

1) Too many doctor visits. Most healthcare plans today cover any doctor visits with only a co-pay. This encourages people to run to the doctor or even the emergency room for every sneeze or sniffle, bump or bruise, things that will probably go away on their own given a little time. If people had to pay full price for their doctor visits, they would probably reconsider going there so often.

2) Too many drugs. Again, most plans cover drugs for a small co-pay. Taking drugs is popular. People expect their doctors to give them a prescription. Drugs are advertised. In the old days, if we had symptoms, we went to the doctor, who gave us a prescription if he thought we needed it. Now, we see an advertisement for a drug, decide we need it, and then find a doctor who will prescribe it to us. We as a country are taking a massive amount of drugs, many of which we don’t need.

3) Too much junk food. I have to confess: I am guilty of this one. Our society promotes it. Every form of media is packed with advertising pushing people to eat fast food and processed foods and drink soft drinks that are not the foods our bodies were created to use as fuel. The short-term results are often obesity and lack of energy, but the long-term results, I believe, are cancer, diabetes, strokes, heart problems and other major health issues that cost a fortune to treat.

4) Focusing on treatments rather than prevention. Referring to #2 above, most drugs treat symptoms; they are not cures. Many of them include side-effects, known or unknown, that will cause us far greater long-term health problems than the drug will resolve in the short-term.

Referring to #3, I believe if our society were educated on just how bad these foods are for our long-term health, it would make a significant impact. The junk-food industry is huge in this country.

If the government is going to be involved at all, it should be involved in regulating the advertising and other industries that are harmful to our health and possibly educating people on how to eat healthier, and the importance of exercise and otherwise taking care of themselves. But I'm not even sure I trust their judgment there.

5) Treating illegal immigrants. I don’t believe that non-Americans are less worthy of treatment than Americans, but if someone is not here legally, not paying taxes, and unwilling or unable to pay for even a portion of their treatment, this is a huge drain on our healthcare system. Those of us who are paying for healthcare end up paying their bills through higher insurance and treatment costs. Illegal immigration is a problem the government could work on, if they are looking for something to do.

6) Malpractice suits. While I believe that doctors and healthcare professionals should be held accountable to do their best, I think malpractice suits are out of control. Doctors who make honest mistakes or who may not have made the best possible call in a profession that is still a science are being sued for huge amounts of money, much of which is collected by attorneys. As a result, doctors are forced to recommend far more treatment than is generally necessary, just to cover all their bases. This, of course, costs hospitals and insurance companies more money, which we eventually end up covering the cost of.

So there you have it: my two cents. While I don’t offer specific solutions, I think we need to start over with re-vamping the system and look at some different factors. I think people need to take responsiblity for themselves. I truly do not believe the government needs to be involved in this system, but if changes were made from the ground up, we might be able to make healthcare more affordable for everyone.