Health Care

Health Care

The number of people in this country who go without adequate healthcare is a national shame and a moral outrage. It is time that we end partisan bickering and work together to develop a system that provides affordable health care for every family in this country.

America is facing a growing health care crisis. Forty five million Americans have no medical coverage, and those that do see skyrocketing premiums every year. It's hurting our businesses. Health insurance adds $1500 to the cost of each car General Motors produces, while their Japanese competitors pay only $200. We spend two times more per capita on health care than any other nation - 17% of our GNP. That is over twice as much as Japan and Great Britain, and 90% more than Canada, France and West Germany. Yet, according to the World Health Organization, we rank 37th in the quality of our medical care. America can and must do better.

Why should our medical care be more costly and less effective than that of other countries? It has been difficult to get an open and honest discussion of the facts. The debate over health care has been driven by special interests, ideologies, and pet theories. We have to get past that. Americans are ready for an honest discussion about health care. We have to approach this issue with a pragmatic, open-minded, can-do attitude. Both the health of our citizens and the health of our economy is at stake.

In looking at rising medical costs in the US, there are a number of factors that stand out. Many point to malpractice litigation. While this is a problem, it amounts to less than 5% of medical care costs. A more serious problem is the money spent on paperwork and administration. This now accounts for 25% of our health care expenses. This is because our system requires complicated records and billing processes involving insurance companies, doctors, and public agencies. It also requires health care providers to hire armies of clerks to fight the insurance companies. Medicare and the national health care systems of most other countries spend around 4% on this. The price of drugs is another major issue. Because we do not have a unified medical system that can bargain with the drug companies, Americans pay twice as much for pharmaceuticals as do the citizens of other countries. The US Veterans Administration, which does bargain with the drug companies, pays 40% less than the rest of us. Another serious problem with our current system is the stratospheric compensation given to insurance providers.

Our system needs major reform. We all have to make some adjustments.. However, there are powerful interests that like things the way they are. Only Big Oil makes higher profits than the drug companies. And the HMO/insurance industry is quite satisfied with the status quo. We need to come together and put the interests of the nation first. We have to look at the experiences of other countries. And we have to find the appropriate mix of private and public management that will work for us.

While there are a number of proposals that merit consideration, a good starting point might be an incremental expansion of Medicare. We could begin by first including children under 5 years of age, and if that works, extend the system to different age or income categories. This would allow us to build on an already functioning and successful program, and give us the flexibility to make adjustments as we go along.

Reforming America's heath care system will be one of my top priorities. Our current system is seriously flawed. I am convinced that if we stand up to the special interests, draw upon good old American ingenuity, and take some personal responsibility for our own behaviors; we will be able to create a system that is second to none - that will provide affordable, quality health care to every American.

http://www.jerrymcnerney.org/issues/healthcare.asp