National Health Insurance Now, Not Later

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Who's afraid of the single payer health plan, otherwise known as National Health Insurance? Big Pharma and the medical establishment, that's who -- because "single payer" is the big bad wolf that's huffing and puffing and is about to blow their house down. And it's a big house, bloated by excess profits, government subsidies and sheer theft of the people's money.

To paraphrase our former President, Richard Nixon, "you're not going to have America's healthcare system to kick around forever."

Health Insurance has been a political football in this country for decades. It's been on every politician's laundry list, in one form or another, in every election. There have been employer plans; there have been government plans; city, state and federal plans. It's been brought up again and again in every State of the Union address, year after year. Despite all the talk and attention by both parties, census figures show that a record 46.6 million Americans, including 8.3 million children, have no health insurance at all, at a time when the cost of health care has gone through the roof. How can they afford to see a doctor or fill a prescription?

Are we going to go on talking the talk and getting ripped off by Big Insurance forever? Why can't we have what every other industrialized nation in the world enjoys -- some form of national health insurance?

That may be the first question some Democratic Congressman or Senator may ask now that they have a majority in both houses of Congress -- but I doubt it.

A look back at the endless squabble over health care in this country will reveal where this timidity comes from. It all began with the bug-a-boo of "Socialized Medicine" raised by the American Medical Association after World War II when they saw their "fee-for-service" system being threatened. The system was: You go to the doctor, you get a service and you pay a fee; and that's the way they wanted to keep it, by God!

But after the war, something new was blowin' in the wind. People like Henry Kaiser, the auto maker and ship builder, came up with a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) for his employees. You pay a small monthly fee, you get your entire medical and hospital needs free of any other charges.

The city of New York jumped right in with HIP (Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York), a pre-paid health plan for city employees. "Socialized medicine!" screamed the AMA. Physicians and surgeons manned the battle stations. Many saw their seven figure incomes taking flight.

Other HMOs mushroomed around the country. And then, in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson made "medical care for the aged" part of his Great Society package. We know it today as Medicare. Then came Medicaid, medical care for the indigent. The flood gates were opened. For the first time, huge amounts of government money started pouring into the health care system.

The insurance industry knew a good thing when they saw it. Organized medicine, the AMA and its state and county medical societies, did not -- paralyzed by the fear of government intrusion.

Insurance companies relished the enormous cash flow of government money emanating from Medicare and Medicaid and other government programs like Champus, medical coverage for servicemen and their families.

Insurance companies set up their own private plans, yes, HMOs, to sop up all that loose cash. They turned pre-paid plans into their opposite -- not "socialized medicine" for the people but corporate welfare for the insurance companies. Through the years, they increased premiums and cut services, raking in billions in profits instead of providing not-for-profit medical services to their subscribers. The doctors allowed themselves to be co-opted and blind-sided. They allowed the pre-paid plans to get away from them. Their fear of "socialized medicine" dimmed their vision.

Instead of "socialized medicine" the doctors got privatized sweatshops where some doctors can't make medical decisions without the approval of an HMO bureaucrat. Managed care became mismanaged medicine.

The epitome of outrage was Hillary and Bill Clinton's opportunistic brainstorming of a National Health Plan in 1992. They devised a government health plan they knew would never work. They dangled it before the nation. They were too politically sophisticated not to know they were playing right into the hands of the insurance companies.

The Clintons set the national health care movement back a generation. Now, Hillary Clinton is running for president in 2008. What's her health care program? More of the same. Single payer? No way.

The current health insurance system violates the very essence of the insurance principle -- the widest coverage for the least cost. The larger the pool, the more efficient the system.

In the current US system, there are literally tens of thousands of different, and overlapping, health care organizations generating a blizzard of paperwork in an administrative wilderness creating enormous waste -- thousands, if not millions of people pushing paper around. They are driving doctors, trying to do a job, up the wall with the different forms needed to be completed in order to get paid, to say nothing of patients fighting their way through a jungle of obstacles trying to get the health care they need.

A single payer system would eliminate all that.

One administrator or "payer" -- yes, a government supervised agency, would collect all health care fees and pay out all health care costs. In a single payer system, all hospitals, doctors and other health care providers would bill one entity for their services. Every US citizen would be covered. It's been done successfully in most "civilized" countries. Why not here?

US health care is in crisis, today. The system just isn't working, for anybody, except, maybe the health insurance industry and their HMOs that are siphoning off whopping profits. But doctors aren't happy. Patients are burdened more and more with increasing co-payments. Health care costs continue to skyrocket. And 47 million people remain uninsured. Sooner, if not later, the system will crash. Must we wait for that to happen?

Stephen Fleischman, television writer-director-producer, spent thirty years in Network News at CBS and ABC, starting in 1953. In 1959, he participated in the formation of the renowned Murrow-Friendly "CBS Reports" series. In 1983, Fleischman won the prestigious Columbia University-Dupont Television Journalism Award. In 2004, he wrote his memoir. See: www.ARedintheHouse.com, E-mail: stevefl@comcast.net

[de_sjiem 0]

I agree that the US needs some sort of healthcare coverage that covers everyone.. Too many people are going around uninsured (myself and my husband included, since we are both unemployed at the moment..) Further more, the costs of healthcare are being increased, since many people can't afford to pay for the services they need, so those fees that the medical system isn't getting from them, ends up being covered by those who can pay.. and then that drives the cost up even more, which means even fewer people can pay for their needed medical care..

Also, who decided that it should only be the rich who get the best health care, or even health care in general? Its a basic necessity, and its not fair that many people have to be afraid to go to the doctor because they dont know if they can afford to pay it or not.. I know that's kept us away in the past.. (we didn't even have health care from our employer for a long time..) Just not a good situation.. Makes me really miss Canada sometimes..

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

steven, if you want free health care, join the military

[Nessa 23]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

[kitkat1 5]

Too many people are going around uninsured (myself and my husband included, since we are both unemployed at the moment..)

I have mixed feelings about national health care because I fear I would not the same level of care and timely service that I experience now. I'd fear that if I needed an MRI or a CAT scan I'd have to wait months for it. I pay a lot for my health insurance but I can't afford not to have the most complete plan available due to previous medical conditions. When I need to see a doctor, I don't have to wait - for an appointment, for a test, for anything. My doctors know me and my medical history very completely, return my phone calls and emails and have provided the highest level of medical care I have ever experienced. I just doubt I would end up with that in a national system and in my case, healthwise, I cannot afford to not have that kind of care.

On another note to de_sjiem, can you get yourselves into an individual health plan that provides only catastrophic coverage with a high deductible and low monthly payment around $65 per person? It's much smarter to have some sort of major medical coverage so that you are covered in the event of an accident or emergency. Even when you don't have employer coverage, there are many other options and it's just not a good idea to be without any coverage . . . I would check to see what kinds of plans your state has rather than having no coverage at all - it's much too scary to do that.

[Nagishkaw 510]

National Health Insurance to go with a National ID Card.., and we thought global warming used to scare us.

[kitkat1 5]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

The library is free, the parks are free, where I live the zoo is free, the museums all have free days, in the summer there are tons of free concerts and movies and all kinds of events!

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

The library is free, the parks are free, where I live the zoo is free, the museums all have free days, in the summer there are tons of free concerts and movies and all kinds of events!

paid for by taxes most of the time.

[kitkat1 5]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

The library is free, the parks are free, where I live the zoo is free, the museums all have free days, in the summer there are tons of free concerts and movies and all kinds of events!

paid for by taxes most of the time.

Well ok maybe, but you pay taxes anyway. Plus it's kind of fun to enjoy the things that don't require cash out of your pocket on a daily basis like a free afternoon at the museum. or a free movie in a park on a summer night or a bunch of good books from the library instead of spending it at Barnes and Noble to buy them. (I love my library!)

[Nessa 23]

that's something I used to do in Brazil, instead of spending lots of money in books, i'd go to the library and get them for free(almost free there's always a fee and all ) I don't know if here in the States works the same, but I'd love to try that someday.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

The library is free, the parks are free, where I live the zoo is free, the museums all have free days, in the summer there are tons of free concerts and movies and all kinds of events!

paid for by taxes most of the time.

Well ok maybe, but you pay taxes anyway. Plus it's kind of fun to enjoy the things that don't require cash out of your pocket on a daily basis like a free afternoon at the museum. or a free movie in a park on a summer night or a bunch of good books from the library instead of spending it at Barnes and Noble to buy them. (I love my library!)

ergo, it's not necessarily free then, is it? but taxes are subjective are they not? a homeowner pays more than a renter. a doctor pays more than a wal-mart greeter in state income taxes, and so on. it may not come out of my pocket on a daily basis, but i assure you it comes out of my pocket twice a year to the tune of almost $900 each time. perhaps a use fee should be implemented to insure that those who use such pay their fair share rather than levying the burden primarily on the educated homeowners. i know that i certainly have not gotten my money's worth from the library and parks around here. maybe cause i'm too busy working

that's something I used to do in Brazil, instead of spending lots of money in books, i'd go to the library and get them for free(almost free there's always a fee and all ) I don't know if here in the States works the same, but I'd love to try that someday.

it's "free" here unless you forget to turn them in on time, then there is a fine

remember: a tax is for doing good, a fine is for doing bad.

Edited February 4, 2007 by charlesandnessa

[kitkat1 5]

ergo, it's not necessarily free then, is it? but taxes are subjective are they not? a homeowner pays more than a renter. a doctor pays more than a wal-mart greeter in state income taxes, and so on. it may not come out of my pocket on a daily basis, but i assure you it comes out of my pocket twice a year to the tune of almost $900 each time. perhaps a use fee should be implemented to insure that those who use such pay their fair share rather than levying the burden primarily on the educated homeowners. i know that i certainly have not gotten my money's worth from the library and parks around here. maybe cause i'm too busy working

Right - but I don't take money out of my pocket each time I go to the library so it feels pretty darn free. Same thing for a move in the park - maybe part of my taxes pays for the upkeep of the park but it doesn't come out of my pocket on the night that I go there and have a picnic and watch the movie on the big screen outside under the stars, so that feels nice and free. Plus, I pay those taxes whether or I use the library or not or go to the movie or not, so why not take advantage of it?

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

ergo, it's not necessarily free then, is it? but taxes are subjective are they not? a homeowner pays more than a renter. a doctor pays more than a wal-mart greeter in state income taxes, and so on. it may not come out of my pocket on a daily basis, but i assure you it comes out of my pocket twice a year to the tune of almost $900 each time. perhaps a use fee should be implemented to insure that those who use such pay their fair share rather than levying the burden primarily on the educated homeowners. i know that i certainly have not gotten my money's worth from the library and parks around here. maybe cause i'm too busy working

Right - but I don't take money out of my pocket each time I go to the library so it feels pretty darn free. Same thing for a move in the park - maybe part of my taxes pays for the upkeep of the park but it doesn't come out of my pocket on the night that I go there and have a picnic and watch the movie on the big screen outside under the stars, so that feels nice and free. Plus, I pay those taxes whether or I use the library or not or go to the movie or not, so why not take advantage of it?

and for those who don't have the time to take advantage of such yet pay the taxes anyways?

i strongly believe in a use fee for stuff like that. some places even try to get golf courses under the same reasoning. and no, i don't play golf either.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

please.. nothing is free in this country...

The library is free, the parks are free, where I live the zoo is free, the museums all have free days, in the summer there are tons of free concerts and movies and all kinds of events!

paid for by taxes most of the time.

Well ok maybe, but you pay taxes anyway. Plus it's kind of fun to enjoy the things that don't require cash out of your pocket on a daily basis like a free afternoon at the museum. or a free movie in a park on a summer night or a bunch of good books from the library instead of spending it at Barnes and Noble to buy them. (I love my library!)

Nothing is free, not even the museums and libraries. Government health care won't be free either. Government is not a profit generating entity; it takes and takes from us, and it does it every day with every tax you pay. We're paying for our immigration cases, btw. Every government agency is a fiefdom, and they have to justify their relevance and the budgets they get by spending every cent of it and asking for more. It is not a great model for resource management.

Until we begin to gain control over government spending, I'm not trusting them with anything more than what they already do badly.

[kitkat1 5]

and for those who don't have the time to take advantage of such yet pay the taxes anyways?

i strongly believe in a use fee for stuff like that. some places even try to get golf courses under the same reasoning. and no, i don't play golf either.

You need to stop working so much!!! I know I pay for all of that stuff via taxes, some I use, some I don't. I assume I pay for the upkeep of the tennis courts and I don't use them, but I use other things so in the end it all works out.

Government health care won't be free either

I know government health care wouldn't be free - I wouldn't want it even if it was free. It scares me much too much.