Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Another orphan of a bankrupt culture

Universal access is not the only problem America faces regarding health care. It's breaking us.

Galloping individual bankruptcies from medical costs are incontrovertible. Nearly one of every 100 Americans will be in a family that declares bankruptcy this year alone because it can't afford treatment. Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats don't care.

Medical costs next will bankrupt the country. We now pay waaay more than any other country for our medical care. Our government's per capita expenditures top those of every other country on earth except Norway and Luxembourg. Then we add on an even greater amount of private expenditures. For mediocre outcomes.

These cost problems cannot be solved by an individual mandate in the absence of a public option. Even a public option is only a tepid half-measure that might lead to what's really needed - single-payer.

8 comments:

S said...

Amen!

DSG said...

Public option, single payer to stop the Fat Cat Insurance Corps.

And tort reform to stop the Fat Cats Lawyers.

lovable liberal said...

Tort reform is a solution in search of a problem. All the court judgements add up to less than $20 per American per year, which is a negligible portion of the $7000+ we spend annually on health care. Insurance company costs above what's borne by government programs such as Medicare are at least $1000 annually.

So, another demonstrably false equivalence...

DSG said...

The court judgements are nothing.

Each $20 is multiplied over and over as insurance comanies charge health care providers exponentially more to cover the judgements and the possibility of judgements. And continue this year after year.

And the health care industry passes that back to us.

You are looking at the elephants toe and claiming the elephant cannot be that big. I do not believe you are that short sighted. You know you can think for yourself sometimes. And part from the sacred DNC line.

lovable liberal said...

Oooh, you're all about the numbers, but your comment is innumerate. You missed a factor of 50. I guess your bridge is going to fall down. Hope no one gets killed.

S said...

DSG, your comment suggests cause to regulate insurance companies, who use a relatively small number of payouts to gouge health care providers for larger premiums, rather than to implement "tort reform", whatever you think that means. The rise of premiums is not a reason to cap damages.

GSD said...

tort reform is very clear to anyone who has experienced the lack of it.

You two are obviously babes in the woods on this one.

Corporate-style law firms specialize in targetting claims against malpractice (the fact that I have to explain this to you review some level of naivete - I will speak slowly). This is a greed-corporate-leech activity.

The result is increased premiums, unnecessary tests, unneeded costs to me, the consumer.

ALL corporate greed should be fought not just those on the DNC accepted hit list.

Fight The Man - Question Authority - even if parading in a lawyer-suit.

Check out the Green Party web site to see what a liberal looks like.

Poking Zealots might not be ethical but it just feels right. (apologies to Dogbert)

lovable liberal said...

SDG, your claim of exponential charges to insure each $20 in losses is naive, innumerate, and false.