Healthcare and you...Can you afford it?

Every once in awhile I get one of those "bugs" that bite you "you know where", when I've had enough of a subject. Being a 40 hour a week warrior I've watched my share of what I pay for healthcare rise steadily, but my pay check hasn't, which I'm sure is the case for alot of you reading this. Some people call it big brotherism, some call it government subsidised heathcare. Call it whatever you'd like, but as a nation we need to begin to draw the proverbial line in the sand when it comes to healthcare and it's cost.

Healthcare is a game, run by the biggest dogs around. 6 figure doctors, lawyers, analysts, and others who think they know what is best for us. I can remember as a child going to the doctor and actually seeing a doctor, not a practitioner or a nurse, but a flesh and bones MD. he would actually take a few minutes and speak to you while actually checking you out. Today, if you see a doctor at all your lucky, and if you do it's for a few seconds, then it's time to pay the bill and leave. Wham, Bam, what a way to spend 45 dollars or more!

I'm not picking on doctors here, because the state of the industry has turned them into assembly line workers. The HMO requires them to see a certain percentage of patients per day, so they have to be on the move in order to get paid. We are losing doctors here in the United States at a alarming rate because they are taking their practices to other countries, where they are not burdened by the so called Heath Maintenance Organizations.

My opinion is that we allow all the heathcare organizations to "bid on business" to provide the entire country with healthcare that everyone can afford. Allow the government to arrange a panel of doctors from all 50 states to sit in on a conference, and decide whats the best numbers to come up with as far as what costs would be. Set realistic figures for procedures(EX- To set a broken leg would be $200.00) Heart surgery 1 valve, etc. These figures would be universal regardless if your doctor is a specialist or not.

Put the pharmaceutical companies in the same position, and make them all come together and come to a reasonable cost for ALL PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION. A quick story is a friend of mine was on a asthma medication for years and all of a sudden his healthcare provider stopped covering the prescription because it was no longer a "approved medication"? he went to another doctor and was told just the opposite that it was not only still approved, but one of the most effective medicines for his degree of asthma.

The prescription costs in this country are out of hand because we all pay for R&D of the drugs, and all the free handouts, you know the pens, note pads, coffee mugs, etc. Everyone has the right to make money and make a living, but when the CEO of a major leading pharmaceutical company has a salary of a few million dollars, that should tell you why prescriptions are so high, and why HMO's won't cover alot of prescription medications.

This article might incite some, have some shaking their heads, or have alot of you saying, tell me something I don't already know, but facts are facts. if we as a society do not take a stand, our employers will no longer be financially able to assist with the heath care burden, and will place it all on our shoulders. Can we afford to foot the bill for ourselves and our families without a HUGE raise?