Neff Zone Cloumn

Print Edition: July 29, 2006

RANT 4: OUR RIDICULOUS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Nothing angers me more than realizing that although we live in the richest country on earth children will die in America (while you’re reading this article) simply because their families have no health insurance. Don’t even try to give me a "ya, but" because it’s just not right. It’s downright immoral!

Now, before you stop reading because you assume this is going to be another liberal plea for government managed national health care for all, hang with me because that’s not where I’m headed. If you do keep reading, please keep this number in mind – 6, 280.

First, let’s look at the "health" of our health system with some random observations and statistics, things that current politicians will dispute but can be backed up by reports from the Government Accountability Office and the World Health Organization, among others.

The U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world. Over 16 percent of our economy ($1.9 trillion last year) goes into our system. In contrast, Canada puts only 10 percent of its economy into health care, Australia 9 percent, and England 7 percent, and these countries manage to provide care for every one of their people.

What do we get for this outlandish expenditure? Our system’s ranking is a lofty 37th in the world. Not only is our system's performance beneath Canada, Japan and all of Europe, but it also trails garden spots like Malta, Colombia, Morocco, Chile and Dominica. Babies born in Cuba have a better chance of survival than babies born here; 77 babies die every day (CIA World Factbook) nabbing us a ranking of 42.

Our elderly die younger than those in 34 other countries -- including Cuba, Andorra, Luxembourg, San Marino and that bastion of healthy living, Slovenia. That’s probably because they die before they figure out what medications they need under the $1.2 trillion boondoggle of a prescription program with 1,400 competing schemes complete with a "doughnut hole" in the "coverage."

Add to this an emergency medical system that is in critical meltdown. According to Terry Kowalenko, Program Director at the University of Michigan/St. Joseph Hospital, "The nation’s emergency medical system is fragmented, overwhelmed and woefully unprepared...It lacks funding and is dangerously overcrowded."

I could go on and on about the ailing U.S. health system, but let’s not declare the patient D.O.A. just yet. While the majority of politicians are standing around waiting for orders from the lobbyists for the status quo, there are glimmers of hope, most notably the Massachusetts plan by Republican Governor Mitt Romney and a pretty successful program led by Democrat Governor Christine Gregoire in Washington state.

Why nothing on the national level? Because everyone is afraid to toss an idea into the fray and have it dissected. Wouldn’t want to actually help the common citizen if there’s a possibility of one’s ego getting bruised.

Well, I’m already short, old and bald, so there’s not much anyone can do to make my situation worse, so here’s a pie-in-the-sky idea, a "what if" for your consideration.

Remember that number I mentioned earlier – 6,280? That’s the dollar amount of taxpayer money the U.S government spends on behalf of every man, woman and child in America for health care, more than double the average of all other industrialized nations. Despite this 46 million are uninsured. Does that sound like anyone is wisely managing your tax dollars?

For the average family of four, that’s $25,120 per year. So I asked a relative of mine who operates a large downstate insurance agency and who also provides health insurance for his employees this question: ‘If the average family was given $25,120 could they buy a good health insurance policy/plan?’ It turns out they could have solid coverage for about half that.

Here’s the "what if." What if the federal government told Americans that as of a certain date the government was getting out of the health care business? No more Medicare, Medicaid, public assistance for health care.

What if they told Americans that as of that date every family, by law, had to choose a private health insurance policy? The policies would be pre-approved and all would have the same basic coverages – no donut holes and no malarkey. Any additions to a particular company’s offerings, to make their policy more appealing or competitive, would be up to that company as per free market principals. Deliver better service and you’ll grab more customers. Defraud us and you go to jail – period.

Any person or family who did not choose a plan would have one assigned to them on a rotating basis among the participating companies.

Pick a plan and send the bill to the federal government. The feds would have two responsibilities: Write the checks and investigate malfeasance.

Can’t work? Why not? You still go to your choice of doctors and hospitals, but instead of you paying premiums to insurance companies the feds write the check. The government gets out of managing health care and they do so at half the cost of what they are ALREADY spending – no new taxes. Don’t tell me we can’t afford to do this, we already have the money collected (my money, your money) and all I’m proposing is using half of that cash to by private health insurance policies for every American. Allocate the money for a $12-grand policy and the feds still would be $12-grand to the good!

Then sit back and watch the free market work – the mantra of all conservatives even if they don’t actually believe in it. Other industries, shed of health care costs for their employees, would be able to compete more effectively on the global market. ER visits, the most expensive care there is, would decline dramatically as people used their new health care policies to go to their primary physicians for preventative care, which would turn out to be far cheaper than paying for the serious illnesses that they later develop. The insurance companies themselves would stampede to procure cost cuts from drug companies because outrageous prices would cut into bottom line profits.

Pie-in-the-sky? Maybe, but you never discover an answer unless someone asks a question. My idea may be so idealistic and far-fetched as to be labeled "wacko," but what I’ve seen from our current crop of politicians is a paralysis of thought seasoned with a sprinkling of lobbyists’ largesse.

Excuse me if I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, "Of all the forms of inequalities, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.