Healthcare In The Twenty-first Century

The American healthcare discussion is viewed with great interest and trepidation for many Americans. Older Americans are wondering what will happen to them if access to medical care or treatment is limited or reduced. There are so many rumors and lies about that one really has a hard time knowing what to think.

Most people would agree that the cost of medical care is rising and has been skyrocketing out of control for a very long time. Insurance companies have profited from their strong position in the market. There is no doubt that fraud exists in some areas. President Obama recently made a statement that was extremely offensive to most people who work in healthcare when he stated that unscrupulous doctors would recommend a tonsillectomy or other surgical procedure based on increasing revenue. This is an attack on the very core values of doctors who take an oath to do no harm.

Such a statement shows a gross lack on information about the medical profession. The truth is something else. Right now it is difficult to get an appointment to see a doctor in under two weeks. Most appointments must be made 4-6 weeks in advance, and specialists like to get their appointments 3-6 months in advance. These doctors do not have a lack of legitimate business. They do not need to drum up business to increase revenue fraudulently. Most doctors can barely handle the large numbers of patients currently in their care.

This morning my mother kept her regularly scheduled doctors visit that was made three months ago. She did not see her primary care physician, but a physician’s assistant (PA). The PA handled my mother’s case because she needed routine blood work and a blood pressure and medication checkup. It is a fact that it is difficult to get an appointment with this doctor.

Fewer medical students are choosing to go into Family Practice because of the great expense in becoming a doctor. They have to make large amounts of money to pay off the educational expenses. No one wants to work round the clock for little monetary reward. 

Most people believe that this country has the finest healthcare available. I do not believe the quality of American healthcare is in question. The question that must be addressed is how should healthcare be financed. At present health insurance is tied to job benefits. This system works for some people, but when income barely meets a family’s basic needs it is not possible to afford health insurance. Clearly, something must be done to relieve this situation.

Government intervention is feared by many people because there is no trust that the government will deal faithfully with everyone. Rules will be set up that will limit access to healthcare or other needed treatment.  I know personally of a person who is disabled and worked for over twenty-five years paying into the Social Security Disability System. Due to declining health this person did not pay the minimum amount of money into the system during the last ten years of work on the job. There is no question about the facts that this person is disabled. He is disabled. He was denied SSD solely according to the amount of money paid into the system during the previous ten years. The merits of his claim were never reviewed. A lifetime of paying into the system was totally disregarded. He has no access to health care and no income to support himself.  Is this what the American people can look forward to when the government is in complete control of the health care system? I hope not.

The battle is fully joined between the Republicans and the Democrats. Unfortunately, this problem is one that everyone in this country shares and should not be decided by partisan politics.  As a conservative person who knows something about health care I am opposed to universal healthcare run or administered by the government. Universal healthcare has been proven a failure in the most important goal which should be getting adequate and timely healthcare to all the people. When people die around the world because they must get in line for treatment, tests, or surgery, then that health care system is a failure. That being said, there is no doubt that something should be done that will bring together the two points of view and offer something everyone can live with.

We are living in a new world and it would be foolish to hang onto a system that is out of control. We should take a good long look at the program that is being offered before it is implemented because once we get into it, there will be little chance of turning back if it fails.