U.S. ranks 19 out of 19, when compared with other wealthy industrialized nations when it comes to healthcare quality. These other countries all have a free health care system for their citizens. Why is our country lagging so far behind in healthcare? A 2009 study by Harvard’s American Journal of Public Health revealed the latest numbers of reported fatalities due to Americans lacking health insurance to be 44,800. Many more Americans are insured by policies that do not meet their present medical needs. Then, there are the 50 million, or roughly 15% of the population completely without health insurance. These numbers coincide with the CIA Factbook unemployment rates at around 14.84%. The cost for prescription drugs is astronomical for this group of people and insurance rates that are expensive already, continue to rise. The average wait time for hospitals is around 20 hours reducing the overall quality of health care in the United States.

Though the aforementioned statistics sometimes equate numbers being thrown around, people who apply for insurance are being regularly denied. There are people appointed within the system who are paid to go over medical records with a fine tooth comb to find any pre-existing condition that would give reason to exclude coverage, jack up your rates or deny coverage altogether. Lee Einer, featured in Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko” is a professional columnist who writes a series of columns for “Honest Medicine.” He was, one of these, as he calls them, “medical hitmen.” From his own experience Lee writes about the lengths that he would have to go to protect insurance companies and thus, his job. “The goal of the medical investigation is to find evidence that something was not fully disclosed on your application for insurance, so the insurer may claim that had they known, they would not have insured you, or would have insured you at a much higher rate, or would have excluded coverage for the condition for which you are now being treated.” He revealed that his job involved diving into people’s medical records as far back as five years to find “ANYTHING” that would indicate a red flag to the insurance companies so they can justify rubber-stamping applications and denying coverage on existing policies. According to Lee, if he has done this successfully, the companies mission would be accomplished. So, if the insurance companies did have the disclosed information prior to Lee’s investigation, they would deny coverage? Where does that leave people like, Tracy Pierce, who was suffering from kidney cancer due to his insurance companies refusal to cover treatment? All forms of treatment the doctors prescribed Tracy were labeled by his insurance company as being “experimental,” and therefore the treatment that would save his life was denied.

The cost of drugs for seniors on disability is astronomically high. For example, a bottle of tamoxifen, used to fight breast cancer, costs on average 360 dollars. If a person needs Lamictal for seizures, the cost is usually 200 or more. When I worked as a caregiver, I had a client who was on Lamictal. An elderly person usually needs 5-10 of these medications taken at morning, noon and evening on average. Medicare normally does not cover these outpatient drugs and the elderly person is faced with paying for daily necessities or paying for their prescribed medications.

Average individual insurance rates in this country that cover major medical and doctor visits are around 250 dollars per month with the average of 1,100 per month for families. The deductibles alone for hospital care can be up to 1000 dollars per individual. This is just too much for middle class families and individuals to pay.

　

What is the downside according to the general population, of a newly proposed universal health care system and what are the benefits?

First, universal healthcare is not to be confused with socialized medicine which is all health officials working for the government. Universal healthcare simply means that all Americans would be covered through an increase in taxes in some form or another.

There are other arguments to be sure, but this author will list the three negatives that seem to be foremost in people’s minds.

*Universal healthcare would create a managed system where government interference would be the name of the game. Right now, a person can still choose their individual doctor and doctors are not limited in decision making, there is a good chance that this kind of freedom could be curtailed or severely limited with a universal system as everyone would be under the same generalized system of care.

*The United States government has done a shoddy job of managing major departments already, just look at Social Security and Medicare, it might even bankrupt the country, some argue. The government would likely waste taxpayers money in the same way.

*Then of course, there is the age old argument, that the plan would absorb the finances of other needed government mandated programs such as education or social programs.

Now, the benefits, again, the majority talk most of these three.

*Everyone would be covered, period. Those who cannot afford insurance need not worry. Young and old, rich and poor alike would be able to be treated and people simply would not die from exclusion of certain ailments dictated by a private health insurance companies rules and exclusion policies, like Tracy Pierce did.

*Less cost. The cost of healthcare and prescriptions would be reduced significantly of what it costs now due to cutting out insurance companies and the fact that prescriptions could be purchased in bulk for such a large number of people; plus a single system is less expensive overall when it comes to overhead.

*The system would be streamlined with less paperwork involved as the processing of each case would follow a single universal model.

There you have it. Which system would truly be better? That is for the people to decide democratically. I, personally support the public option for healthcare reform, because I believe that universal human rights ideals are just plain more important than the principle ideals of less government. Is that not why, just last week, we exercised our right to vote in this country?

　

　

　

CIA Factbook: Unemployment Rate by Country, World, 6/8/2009.

http://finder.geocommons.com/overlays/13662

　

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Michael Moore - “Sicko” the movie.

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http://www.honestmedicine.com/2007/08/sicko-hitman-le.html

　

Flink, J. (February 10, 2006.) Copyright 2007, by TheKansasCityChannel.com Man Dies After Insurance Co. Refuses To Cover Treatment. .

http://www.kmbc.com/health/6882159/detail.html

　

PR-inside.com. News and free pr. (Oct 26, 2009.)

http://www.pr-inside.com/average-monthly-health-insurance-premiums-r1547438.htm

　

Fritz, J. (Sept 16, 2009.) Average family health insurance policy: $13,375, up 5%. reprinted from USA Today. Retrieved October 28, 2009, from

http://www.usatoday.com

　

　

The New York Times. (August 12, 2007.) World’s Best Medical Care?

Retrieved October 28, 2009, from

http://www.nytimes.com

　

Philip, T.W (June 9, 2009.) The Pros And Cons Of Universal Healthcare In The United States

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http://www.brazencareerist.com

　

Roberts, J. (March 1, 2007.) Most Americans Favor Improving Healthcare, Give Democrats Edge On Improving System. Retrieved October 28, 2009, from

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/01/opinion/polls/main2528357.shtml