Sleepwalking in America: Our Health Care Circus

Since America is now deciding what to do about health care, the expected blow-hards, fat-heads, and shills for various industries come out of the woodwork to warn us about socialism, high costs, lack of choice, big government, and other supposed evils of any system that would take care of the health needs of our country by reducing the profits of private interests. It's the search for profits, of course, that drives the circus. Businesses strive to maximize revenues and minimize costs, which means in the health insurance business you strive to collect as much as possible in insurance premiums while paying out as little as possible in claims. Private health insurance companies operate for private profit and not for the public good, and any statement otherwise is a blatant lie.

Also a lie is what the American public is told by private insurers and the hack media about public insurance in other countries. The truth hardly ever gets broadcast. In the current issue of the New York Review of Books (July 16, 2009), there's a letter from an Englishman named John Dean who lives in Westerham in Kent. Mr. Dean makes the following points about the British National Health Service, points that need the attention of all Americans:

1) Mr. Dean lives in a small town near London with a population of about five thousand people. The town has a National Health Service Center staffed with five doctors and a support staff.

2) Each registered patient can ask to see a doctor of his or her choice by arranged appointment.

3) When doctors prescribe drugs, the drugs can be purchased at a local drugstore for a fixed fee of about $12. Senior citizens are not charged.

4) Patients who are not satisfied with their treatment have the right to transfer to another medical center or surgery.

5) National Health Service physicians exercise complete medical control over their patients and deal with referrals to consultants for specialist advice and surgery.

6) Apart from the charge for prescribed drugs, the service is free to all patients. The UK National Health Service deals with the majority of all British citizens, but everyone has the right to opt out of the system to pay on their own for private medical advice and treatment.

Are the British crazy, or is it we Americans who are crazy? Although the United States has five times the population of the United Kingdom, it seems that Americans are about five times as gullible as their British cousins. In fact, nowhere in the industrialized world do you find people as prone to believe special interests yakking about the evils of universal health care and public health insurance. Why is that? Why do we exercise more common sense about the postal service than we do about health service? Why are we so gullible?

Frankly, I'm not optimistic that America will get the health care reform it needs. Too many people are sleep-walking through reality shows and ball games and media gossip. Like zombies, we soak up the nonsense of grinning con men. In the early 19th century, the early days of America, in most states no one was required to have a license to practice medicine. The idea, totally stupid, was that Americans were free and anyone should be free to practice medicine without a license. We haven't changed much. Our current attitude seems to be that Americans are free and anyone should be free to die in the street for lack of money to pay for health care. "Anyone can go to an emergency room," the rich boy said. Gee, thanks. Meanwhile, if certain business interests will lose too much money if we have adequate health care in America, maybe it's time those interests found another enterprise to feed their bank accounts.

Comments

[Johnnyknox]

I completely agree that America needs health reform, but this bill is not a good one. I do not want the government in charge of my healthcare. I can not name one efficientl run government program. Right now medicaid and medicare are $36 trillion dollars debt over unfunded medical claims and that is only for 10 million people. The number to cover everyone would be unfathonable, so much so that they have not been able to come up wityh any cost numbers yet because they would be so massive it would bankrupt are already broke nation. If our government really wants to have healthcare reform there are simpler way to go about it without putting our natio into further economic strain that we can not handle. 1) Give tax credits to employers to provide health insurance to it's employees. 2) Open up the insurance market between the states creating actual competition that always reduces prices when there is competition to allow the people to hava a choice. 3) make malpractice lawsuits looser pays that would reduce the amount of frivalous claims and lawsuits ( currently doctors pay about half of their salary in malpractice ). Also under the current bill if you lose your private insurance through job loss or any reason once you lose that insurance you are put on the government plan and are not legally aloud back to a private insurer. That does not sound like a public option to me, but more of a public mandate.

[GardenerNorCal]

Let the legislators vote and go on record. Right now they are just making noise. Once they vote if they vote against the need for a public option or single payer, then they don't get re-elected.

[FaceReality2]

Why don't we have a decent health care system? Because psychopaths are in charge.

"Approximately 18% of any given population is active in the creation and imposition of a Pathocracy. The 6% group constitutes the Pathocratic nobility and the 12% group forms the new bourgeoisie, whose economic situation is the most advantageous.

"When you understand the true nature of psychopathic influence, that it is conscienceless, emotionless, selfish, cold and calculating, and devoid of any moral or ethical standards, you are horrified, but at the same time everything suddenly begins to makes sense. Our society is ever more soulless because the people who lead it and who set the example are soulless — they literally have no conscience.

"If the general voting public is not aware that there exists a category of people we sometimes perceive as almost human, who look like us, who work with us, who are found in every race, every culture, speaking every language, but who are lacking conscience, how can the general public take care to block them from taking over the hierarchies? General ignorance of psychopathology may prove to be the downfall of civilization. We stand by like grazing sheep as political/corporate elites throw armies of our innocent sons and daughters against fabricated enemies as a way of generating trillions in profits, vying against each other for pathological hegemony."

http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/05/beware-the-psychopath-my-son/

[TrueSense]

Unfortunately, Americans appear to be some of the most gullible people in world. I hope it is not the case bu it would also appear we tend to be ignorant and easiy manipulated.

While our geographic isoaltion and peaceful or weak neighbors have provided us a certain level of security and able to choose most of our wars and deployments, it now has turned into a liability.

Due to provisionalism and the nature of our recent economics, Americans barely travel anywhere. There are people who do not go more than 50 miles from home or more than the next state. Only 10% have passports. While many of us go to Canada, Mexico, and the Carribean, we rarely ask or see how medicine is indeed practiced in Canada.

On away to a game against th Canucks, they responded to their taunts by saying that we all have healthcare.

[marthamothra]

Excellent. Clear, concise. What I've always known, but you put it so well. Forgot to mention, that their taxes are higher, but the studies I've read, they are not much more than 1-4 points higher. With all we waste on health insurance and high prescriptions and co-pays, it more than pays for itself. As an R.N. and citizen, I've always felt that the health of a nation is the responsibility of its government, the officials we elected, and are beholden to us. With a healthy populace, we can regrow our economy.

[Bernique]

I like the tone of your article. You don't mince words ("blatant lie", "hack media", "free to die"). The situation is grave, and harsh words need to be used. You focus on the U.K. as an example of a fair and rational health care model. It is a Single Payer model, and one that we should imitate, using Medicare for All as an expedient way to get there. Thank you for your honesty.

[FreddieVee]

Beware of the Health Care "Insurance" ads, because many are Scams. One company offers Health Care Coverage for about $6 per day for an individual and $10 per day for a family, with no "Pre-existing illness" exclusions, no deductibles, plus they throw in Dental and Prescription coverage.

How can they do that? Because it is not Health Care “Insurance”. It is Health Care Coverage.

When I go to my doctor, the bill for the visit is $80. My Insurance Company's contracted amount for that visit is $53.82. They pay 80% of the $53.82 which is $43.05 and I pay 20% which is $10.77. When my knee was replaced, the total bill came to $55,000. The contracted rate was $15,000, $12,000 from the insurance company and $3,000 from me.

How would a Health Care Coverage Company have handled those claims? They would have paid nothing, but the plan's member would have paid the contracted amount. For the $80 doctor visit, the plan's member would pay $53.82, for the knee replacement, the plan's member would pay $15,000.

Big savings, but can a person who can't afford Health Care “Insurance” Premiums afford about $55 per doctor's visit or $15,000 (or more) for surgery?

Before buying into any Health Care Plan, be sure what you are getting.

The next time a politician tells you that Health Care Coverage is "not that expensive", he is probably trying to confuse you by talking about Medical Coverage, not Medical “Insurance”.

FreddieVee

[FaceReality2]

This is what an insurance company insider called "fake insurance" in his testimony to Congress.

[NicoloM]

Dan-
From a neuroscience point of view, why are we more gullible than our continental cousins? I took a look at your list of books, isn't a lot of what you describe just that we are susceptible to propaganda? But we fear to confront the issue of manipulation directly?
Because so many people have insurance regardless of its value, are the "con" men using our "loss aversion" against us? Why are we "sleepwalking"-- have we isolated as the result of the move to the suburbs and the predominance of TV?
How do you suggest this change? The corporate media is invested in corporate control of health, so how do you propose getting around its propaganda? The essence of your article has been stated many times in the "non-traditional" media, but is it gaining traction with the sleepwalkers? How can that be done?

[Overd0g2]

We're not so gullible as to trust the government.

[WellTickleMeWillie]

But you are apparently gullible enough to trust the health care deniers corporations which maximize their profits, charge you more for less care and deny you health care in times when you really need it.. Now that's someone you can really trust. Hey?

[Hiphopcrates]

And let's add free medical training to those who want to serve humanity as opposed to those who want to get rich from practicing medicine.

[robbor]

the politicians say, " Yes, I know you voted for me, yes, i know 75% of you want single payer healthcare but before I act I have to check in with my sugar daddies, you know, pharma and the HMOs.

[Mike Bradley]

Our elected representatives should respect the wishes of a 2/3's majority of the American people.

[minerva117]

More like 3/4.

[COPerez]

My father-in-law died a few years ago from liver cancer. He was retired, with almost no income, his wife worked at an hourly job for little money. At the end he was admitted to the hospital on the day after Christmas and died about 2 weeks later. When the family walked out of the hospital, we had no worries about medical bills driving his wife into bankruptcy or out of the small rental house she lived in.

Why?

Not because they lived in the US with the "best gosh-darned medical care in the world." Becaue they are Canadian citizens. We walked out of the hospital with no bills, nothing owing, just the memory of the excellent staff and the care they gave to him.

[WellTickleMeWillie]

As Americans, I am worried about a devistating illness now that I and my wife are senior citizens. It could wipe out everything we worked for our entire lives just to pay the medical bills. But hey, we americans are free to let the medical insurance corporation rape us in our hour of dire need and transfer whatever little wealth I have into their fat corporate bank accounts. So Mr CEO of the medical care deniers insurance corporations can have his 9 homes, a yatch and lavish vacations. No there is no class system in the US. That's a fairy tale told by well socialists and the medical care deniers whores in Congress.

[Derelict outlaw]

nothing makes money like human suffering.......or prisons...two things that America excels in.

[WellTickleMeWillie]

America - the land of the freedom to be stupid and gullible. And, you are free such that your stupidity can hurt others who don't share your stupidity So you are both free to be stupid and gullible and in so doing, simultaneously hurt others in the process. B/c americans don't want no stinkin' gov't on their backs just corporations, bankers and insurance companies to exploit them for profit denying their health care and they'll vociferously defend the corporate freedom to do so b/c well americans are stupid. But leave me out of this. I need to move to Canada so I can be less free, less stupid and get universal health care all at the same time. Sounds like a good trade off to me. America is in decline and falling fast.

[Ranta]

For some reason, Obama says we should have a uniquely American health care system. Why does he want to reinvent the wheel.
Far better, would be to study all the other public health care systems in the world and cherry pick the best parts. That's what Taiwan did when they started public health care for all. In fact, they modeled their system primarily after Medicare.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

[Derelict outlaw]

Switzerland's plan looks the best to me. Taiwan's not too shabby either.