Can the Healthcare Crisis be Resolved?

Beginning to Define the Problems and Solutions

We first need to understand what the crisis is. We have a million articles out there telling us what the crisis is and showing example upon example of the crisis, but few have the cojones to force a solution or even propose one.

Over the past year, looking at the mainstream media and its reporting of the healthcare crisis in America and I have learned (or been told) many things. Let's blog these and see if we can, as a community, decide which the major issues are and what the reasonable solutions are.

PRESUMED HEALTHCARE CRISIS ISSUE #1: There are too many people without health insurance.

This is true. It is also true that if someone arrived at a solution the people will rise and anoint them The Emperor/Empress of America immediately.

Let's look at some analyses and solutions on this issue of the uninsured.

"The Uninsured Healthcare Crisis in America (7/6/05)
By Steve Sellery, health analyst
From The Ultimate Field Guide to the U.S. Economy

The United States spends far more on healthcare per person than any other country in the world - 47% more than Switzerland, the next largest spender on healthcare. We spend over $1.5 trillion on healthcare, and still, we have over 45 million people who are uninsured.

For the sole issue of the problem of the uninsured this link really summarizes it well: . It also offers the beginning of a solution that I will reproduce below:

Conclusion:
There is a serious crisis in the healthcare system as more businesses and individuals find health insurance unaffordable. The pressure for change is growing. According to a Washington Post/ABC news survey in 2003, 62% of Americans support a "universal health insurance program, in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare that's run by the government and financed by taxpayers" (see Note 5). The popular support exists for universal healthcare – let the will of the people prevail"

All these articles, unfortunately, compare us to countries like Sweden or Switzerland. That is brain dead. In Sweden all that exists are Swedes. Beautiful, mainly blonde, healthy people. While I have no problem if they exist when I roll to the left or right in bed, they are not the gold standard to which to compare for the average healthcare concerns of Americans.

We need to stop making comparisons to countries that have no urban or rural problems. We don't need comparisons. The problem is so obvious it needs no comparison.

The first issue you may think that we need to solve is that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured. That is only part of problem number one. It may be better understood that there are millions of Americans who don't have access to quality healthcare. What is the difference? If you are given a universal health plan but no doctor with a brain and good hands will accept that health plan then you might as well be considered uninsured.

There appears to be a contradiction here. If we have everyone on Universal Health Insurance that will solve our problem, BUT if we have Universal Health Insurance and the solution that brings me health is not part of that plan then Universal Health Insurance did not solve the problem.

Here is a quote that can help us is looking to refine the number one problem in healthcare in America:

Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong." ---Ayn Rand

Based on this, our premise that simply having a universal payor will solve a universal problem is incorrect. This is because problem NUMBER ONE in healthcare is not the uninsured in America. Here is problem number one:

MAD ABOUT MEDICINE HEALTHCARE CRISIS ISSUE #1: There are millions of Americans who due to a variety of reasons (lack of insurance, failure of their insurance company to appropriately pay, lack of qualified doctors in their region, lack of knowledge as to how to seek out qualified health solutions) fail to have access to solutions to make them healthier.

MAD ABOUT MEDICINE CHALLENGE:
As a blog community lets first define the nature of this problem. Post example after example that demonstrates the existence of how the current healthcare system has left you less healthy and possibly sicker, and your ideas for how to turn that around.

Dr. K.

Related Topics:

• Health Care Reform: Tough Choices
• Health Insurance Guide

Technorati Tags: health insurance, healthcare, policy reform

Thanksgiving

In a sea of the bottom line, black and white profit driven corporate healthcare we have become used to- thanks to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies- I want to say thank you to the doctors, nurses, and scores of other professionals who go to work daily and continue to strive to do the right thing.


Dr. K.