Got healthcare?

Just a warning right off the bat, the length/interesting ratio is probably not sufficient for most people. But if you do feel like reading this, I'd like to hear your comments.

I've almost always wanted to be a doctor. Sure, there were times when I wanted to be a fireman, action hero, or astronaut, but being a physician was my most consistent dream. I sort of feel like it was my calling in life, but it might just be those fancy white coats they get to wear. I suppose buying one at a supply store would be more affordable than a medical education. But no matter what the cause, every time I go into a hospital or a doctors office I feel like I'm at home, or like I'm supposed to be there. Nevertheless, as it often happens, plans changed. I got distracted by potential adventures in Asia, or bankers hours, or an easier lifestyle. After I finally snapped out of it I walked down the medical road for a bit, but I was too far away from contention for medical school, and I had more family oriented goals that needed to be attended to.

So now I'm a lawyer in training--a "blood sucker," if you will. One of my goals in life is to use my powers for good instead of evil. I want to defend Doctors and Hospitals. Don't get me wrong, I think patients need good attorneys too, but that's just not my thing. Hopefully whoever I go up against will be capable, and the truth will come out. (Of course in this job market, I'd be happy to fight for the oppressed patients! or patents, or contracts, or whatever.)

So I have very strong feelings about health care, and it's making me so mad lately that the solutions are getting all screwed up by politics. Public options, socialized medicine, free market, government health care, blah blah blah. But before I get to that I want to talk about the "why" instead of the "how".

Is health care a human right? An essential requirement for our government to provide? Or is it a privilege or luxury? This is an important question, because if you are arguing with someone who answers that question differently than you, then you will have trouble coming to any type of agreement. Honestly, if you think it's a privilege, like Cable TV or the internet (which some might argue is essential) then a mandate requiring everyone to have it might rub you the wrong way. Honestly, it would really irk me if President Obama said "Every home in this country must have the internet! If you don't have it, you'll be subject to a fine. To keep competition honest, we will provide a government internet service provider" I don't see health care as a privilege or luxury-I've thought about this for a couple years and I just don't see it that way. If you slip on some ice and break your arm, you should be able to go to the ER without it destroying your finances. If a cute little girl gets leukemia, she should get care without bankrupting her entire family. I find it hard to believe that anyone out there would really say "TOUGH LUCK" to the uninsured if they looked at it on a case by case basis.

So how do we do it? I don't know. But I think I'll spend a lot of my life trying to figure this out. I'm just afraid the government might act a little too rashly and screw it all up first. :)

First, to all you Democrats out there: stop blaming the markets and insurance companies for the high cost of medical care. That's kind of a bull crap argument. Health care is expensive, and we want to have the best health care in the world, so don't pretend that it can just be cheap because you want it to be so. NASA isn't affordable, and neither is the Military. Sure, preventative care and better efficiency will cut costs, but the current health care proposals won't really do a good job of that. What are they going to do? Mandate that everyone get a physical every year? Create drive-thru proctologists? Or maybe tell you that you can't get that MRI even if your insurance covers it? That sounds like a reduction in freedom to me.

Both sides seem to favor tort reform, but there are serious consequences I won't go into here, and the financial impact will not be all that substantial. (One speaker at a seminar even said that completely eliminating all medical lawsuits would only reduce costs by 2-3%, so that 20k medical bill is now only 19,400)

Next, I have to argue with the republicans out there. I don't think public options are the same as socialized medicine.....at all. A simple example is the post office. Even though UPS, Fed Ex, and DHL are limited in terms of shipping letters, they are free to compete with the post office on packages. Is there any evidence that the existence of a government postal service has eaten up all the private competitors? I know it isn't the same thing, but I feel like it's taking it way to far to say that having a government health insurance would automatically swallow up other insurers. I guess if you think the government is completely evil, you may think that they will offer ridiculously cheap insurance that will drive all private companies out of the market and create a socialistic health care system. But do you have any evidence of this happening in another industry? I think worst case scenario a public option would just end up like public education. Private schools are limited but still widely available.

I would personally be much more comfortable if the government had a very limited role. Why not offer preexisting condition insurance through the government? Or trauma insurance that is available to everyone. If private companies didn't have to cover preexisting conditions or amounts over $100,000, the premiums would most certainly go down. That would mean that you'd still be in the market to compare rates and choose the cheapest/best coverage for you, but you wouldn't be completely disadvantaged because of a medical condition that is partially, if not completely, out of your control. Of course this would create a gov't bureaucracy that would have to decide what they would cover and what they wouldn't cover.... but it's not like Congress' current plan is going to run itself.

So what are your thoughts? Is healthcare a right or a privilege? Will a public option destroy the system and turn us into Europe? Can we have the best health care in the world without it being the most expensive? Are saturated fats and willy wonka really to blame for this mess?