What is the answer to the healthcare problem in America?

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   c mark walkerposted 12 years ago

   What is the answer to the healthcare problem in America?
   
   If not Obamacare then what?  Insurance policies/standards leave too many without anything;many my age, 54 and older, don't have any coverage.Fewer employers are providing health insurance or providing insurance so flawed with co-pays and deductibles so expensive  it's useless.Medical "reform" or "overhaul" or whichever term you prefer,doesn't seem to be part of the equation for the near future although that's the true answer to this problem. Soon,the only people who will get healthcare will be healthcare providers.

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   TIMETRAVELER2posted 12 years ago

   I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that many Americans are very sloppy about their health and if they were more responsible, they wouldn't need as much health care and thus would pay less for the services they do receive.  Alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, being non compliant for diseases like Diabetes, obesity...these all are problems that do not have to exist.  Improvements can only take place if individuals take responsibility.

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      c mark walkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree Timetraveler2, I'm guilty of that myself but now we are at this point with no real answers as to how to proceed.

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   c mark walkerposted 12 years ago

   To the guy with the cowboy hat who answered this question, I deleted your answer by mistake. You made a very good point and would hope you would write it again. Very sorry, I simply hit the wrong button when trying to reply.

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   JimTxMillerposted 12 years ago

   Make health care about health care, not about making obscene profits from human suffering.

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   Mitch Alanposted 12 years ago

   A free-market approach would alleviate many of the current cost issues surrounding the insurance field in health care and the cost associated with health care itself. If insurance companies, like those in the auto insurance industry, were able to freely trade across State lines they would be able to compete for more business and have more competition. This would enable more choices to be offered to the end consumer. Competition and choice increase the number of options available and reduce costs. Major tort reform, to limit frivolous lawsuits, would decrease the cost to doctors by way of their insurances and decrease the costs associated with providing medical services to the end consumer. By eliminating the federal bureaucracy that is involved with health care we would take out a large part of the reason we have seen an increase in the cost of providing health care. As the federal government increasingly subsidizes health/welfare it causes an artificial upswing in cost. When the government subsidizes something, and in doing so regulates what it will allow to be charged through it's system, the market must make up for those loses by increasing cost elsewhere. Those that are being pain for by confiscatory funds see no change in costs, while those actually paying for insurance and healthcare in the real market are forced to absorb those costs.
   Remove the federal government from the health care realm altogether as it is not only NOT one of it's enumerated powers, but it is also not a good and equitable system. Open up free-markets of supply and demand to cause a an increase in quality, more choices and more options from a cost standpoint.

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      c mark walkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Very good answer Mitch and thanks

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   SidKempposted 12 years ago

   I do not believe that there is any effective social or economic solution. (Larry Wall just wrote a great hub about this, by the way.) I think there is no good solution for two reasons: First of all, our health care system does not prevent illness, and rarely cures it. Second, the finances related to it are based in greed, and self-interested individuals will find a way to bend any system to their own ends.
   
   Therefore, no matter what is done at a legislative level, health care in America will continue to be expensive and ineffective.
   
   For each individual,though, there is a path to a solution. We can set health care aside as much as possible, and focus on wellness and empowering our own ability to be healthy. The body and mind are amazing gifts with amazing healing powers. Let's learn to use them, so that medicine becomes 90% obsolete.

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      c mark walkerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Very good answer Sid,healthcare rarely cures like fire ant poison.If fire ant poison worked,they would go out of business

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      Abby Campbellposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, Sid! Empowering ourselves is the best healthcare.

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   Abby Campbellposted 12 years ago

   I think Sid and Mitch have said it best.
   
   We, as a culture, need to really focus on our own health first. By eliminating disease brought on by self, it would lessen the cost factor with insurance companies and medical providers. For eight years, I have had to purchase individual insurance for my family because my husband's employer's insurance was too expensive. The funny thing is it is the exact same insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield. My husband's employer even covered 75 percent of his insurance, but the cost for a family of 4 without maternity leave was nearly $1,500 per month. I have the same insurance with maternity benefits for approximately $465 by purchasing it myself. That is less than one-third of the cost! Go figure!
   
   However, deductibles continue to rise each year (as well as premiums). Though Blue Cross Blue Shield covers preventative care (i.e., exams, tests, and vaccines) 100 percent, and the only time we see the doctor is for our annual well exam. Maybe, one of my girls will go for a sick visit during the year. Because we see the doctor so little, it would be much more economical for me to pay directly out of pocket without paying insurance premiums. However, we never know if we will need the insurance for more expensive healthcare costs such as cancer or accidents. But, I was just pondering your question yesterday and wondered what we are going to do when we can no longer afford even our own personal insurance. After all, we must meet deductibles first to have any coverage (other than preventative care).
   
   I know that appointed CVS pharmacies provide the Minute Clinic for preventative care and minor illnesses for a fraction of the cost of regular doctor offices. In fact, I've used it instead of the emergency room for one of my daughter's a couple of years ago, and the cost was less than $70 (plus medication). It might be better to opt for just a "cancer" and/or "accident" insurance and use the Minute Clinic as an alternative to the high-costing insurances.

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