Health Care Reform - Truth, Lies, and Somewhere in the Middle

Yes, it is true, there are probably hundreds or even thousands of blogs out there on the interweb about the whole health care reform issues right now. This one is just adding another voice among many. So why? Because it is important enough that we all need to look at this broken down in as many various ways as possible so we may ponder/consider/debate the issue based on as much "fact" (or fiction, as the case may be) as we know or think we know at this point.

There are going to be lot of statements being made in this particular entry that may or may not be fact. And herein lies part of the problem. Why, pray tell, may some of the statements not be fact? Honestly, because the truth is so damn hard to find, define, or divine. As much as possible these statements will be described as and for what they are; either pseudo-fact or conjecture. When there are actual “facts” (hard, indisputable, verifiable), these will be described as such.

So where do we start? Let’s begin with the “Holy Trinity” on the issue:

– The Father (private insurance, pharmaceutical companies, and health care providers), the Son (government), and the Holy Ghost (the media). This is probably the best way to describe the sickly (sorry about the pun) nature of where “we the public” are getting most of our information on the subject. The media is the delivery method. The government is the talking head. Private insurance, pharmaceutical companies, and health care providers are the ones actually running the show.

Technically, the later statement should (well let’s face it; we wish it “could”) be described as either pseudo-fact or conjecture. In fact, it would be absolutely marvelous to be able to describe it as such. If there is anyone in this wonderful country of ours who can provide fact-based data that disputes this, please speak up, submit a post, supply the evidence, and should said evidence prove reliable/verifiable it will be immediately posted for all to see. Until that time, however, it looks like we will need to accept the idea that it amongst the Holy Trinity, this triumvirate is what really pushes the buttons, pulls the levers, and drives.

Let’s face it; this country was founded on democracy and capitalism. We like it that way. It’s worked that way for a couple of hundred years now, and for the most part we’ve been happy with it. We don’t want to run right out and change the entire system. What we do need to recognize, however, is that at its inception it was a great idea. That was when there were only a few hundred thousand souls that made up the entire country, and for the most part we had the same perspective on a large number of issues. Oh sure, there were a few wealthy elite, but most Americans were hard-working farmers, laborers, and service providers.

One of the salient points that never seems to get discussed these days is the fact that what we were as a country back during its founding is definitely NOT what we are as a country today. Government was designed as an institution that was by the people, for the people. Fundamentally that has not changed. What has changed are the people. More numbers, more diversity, more needs. During the founding years, if an individual wanted work, it was pretty easy to come by. Yes, yes, yes; that is a generality. There were, of course, exceptions. More specifically, gender and race exceptions. That topic can be debated endlessly, and senselessly. And it does not really have anything to do with this discussion.

The bottom line, here, is that the needs of the average American citizen today are dramatically different from the needs of the average American citizen in 1800. Finding work is not so simple. A lot more jobs require “skilled” labor. A ten or twelve year old child cannot go down to the local township and find work for a day, a week, or the summer. Both the search and acquisition of a job has become a process that requires much more creativity.

But the differences do not stop there. While we have become more sophisticated, we have also become more fortunate. Let us now turn back to our topic of health care. Medicine has become so exponentially better that people have the “capability” of living longer, healthier, happier lives. We are more educated about our health (or at least we can be if we so choose). There are more options (subjectively). Diseases that we didn’t even understand 200 years ago can now be completely cured.

Yet, even knowing all of this, millions of people suffer and/or die as the result of health care issues every year. A large number of these deaths are from conditions that are completely preventable or treatable. What gives?

Money. Let me repeat that. MONEY! The dollar. Dinero. Mula. Bread. Dough. Cash. Green. Bucks. Funds. Scratch. Jack. Currency. Coin. Legal tender.

Now, who do you suppose is getting all the money in the health care industry? You? The government? Charitable organizations? Please, stop laughing now. It really isn’t that funny.

So here we go; insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and health care providers. The absolutely sickening joke in this is when you get that letter in the mail (if you happen to be one of the fortunate 46% of Americans who actually have some type of health care coverage) that says “in order to try and keep health care costs down, we are working on reducing fraud by investigating false medical claims”, or something to that general effect. Hey wait! Maybe there’s a better idea. Why don’t you actually try reducing costs by cutting the salaries of the executives and CEO’s of the insurance companies down from the several hundred million dollars paid out to them to say, oh let’s reach for the sky here, and a say a comfortable living wage. You know, the kind of salary that will actually pay the bills and give you a comfortable amount left over, rather than allowing you to buy a $10 million home, four or five $200,000 cars, 10 to 12 weeks of vacation where you can go pretty much anywhere in the world your heart desires, luxury jets that fly you from New York to Los Angeles for lunch, etc. Wow, isn’t that just a crazy idea? But no, you’d rather cut costs by denying claims, most often legitimate ones.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, cutting down on the EXTREME excess by the insurance companies that the average policy holder is paying for is a good start. But what about those who don’t have any health care insurance in the first place. Here is where it really starts getting not just sad, but sickening.

A lot of folks don’t go to the doctor or take their children to the doctor or urgent care, not because they don’t think medical care isn’t required, but because they simply cannot afford it. Worse, they cannot afford the medication the doctor might prescribe, so they simply see no sense in going in the first place. These same people cannot afford health care coverage. Either their employer does not provide health benefits, or the group health plan they do provide is so expensive they have to choose between health care and eating. Not much of a choice, that.

And do pharmaceutical companies and health care providers work on making medications and health care more cost effective? Well, let’s be honest here. There are a number of drug companies out there that make generic equivalents that are much more affordable. But in the same vein of honesty, we also need to recognize the reason for this is because they know they wouldn’t be making any money at all on some of the generics if they didn’t offer some sort of alternative.

The fact that generics are so much less expensive than the name brand drugs should tell us something right there. If these “therapeutically equivalent” medications can be made and sold so inexpensively, why do the name brand versions cost so much? There is literally no difference between the two, with the exception of the name on the label. It’s like buying a pair of jeans that have the exact same material, stitch, and cut as Levi’s, but cost 10% of the pair that actually says “Levi” on them. Something isn’t adding up here.

Enter the government. Here is where the debate starts. Right now it would appear they are attempting to do something about making health care and medication more affordable and available to every American citizen. But, are they really? Barack Obama’s efforts are to be applauded. For all intents and purposes, he really is trying to affect some change and create something real that is available to everyone. Regardless, it seems like every effort he makes is being resisted by one side of the political spectrum or the other. It appears that almost everyone agrees that something needs to be done. Improvements need to be made. Agreeing on what needs to be done and where those improvements are required is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Health insurance options are limited. Health insurance costs are prohibitive. The dynamics of the American public have changed. Once-upon-a-time it made no sense to provide a government sponsored health care plan. This was during a time when jobs were plentiful, and the local health care system consisted of the town doctor. He would see you when you needed it. You were expected to pay for the service, but produce, meat, or dairy from the farm was ample payment as often as not. The doctor needed to eat and have an office, but outside of that he was just another hard-working citizen that enjoyed the benefits all other townsfolk enjoyed.

Medicine has become much more complicated and specialized. Almost nobody disagrees that medical specialists deserve to be well compensated for the work they do. But we need to find some way to ensure that everyone in this country who needs medical care can obtain it. We need to develop a system that provides options that the average American can afford, regardless of their financial disposition.

This is getting long-winded, but this is a complicated issue. It is also EXTREMELY important. We’ll stop here for now, but the next post will talk about how the media is affecting the issue, both within the health care industry and the government.

Please feel free to submit a response. All responses will be moderated and possibly edited before being posted.