Courage needed to change healthcare system
What if we owned an insurance company? That concept is not new, mutual companies having been around for years. They are good ideas in some cases: Factory Mutual for example, does a terrific job of insuring large manufacturing concerns and certifying products such as sprinklers. As an ex-client, I can attest to their expertise. Last week Mr. Baker tried to make the case for a health insurance mutual in which we would all be clients. Clearly, we must forgive him, for he knows not what he is saying.
He ignores the fact that a large part of health care is out of our control, namely the cost of the raw materials, doctors. Then there are companies, like GE that want us to have not an MRI, but an MRI on the latest super 3D neutron microscope model XL3005. Besides that, we have Glaxo-Johnson-Atria-MegaCorp who wants us to use the latest cough syrup using magic ingredient chloro-xylophene-wheezo. Yes, the profit motive is big. And lest we forget, if you mess up, there is Sue,Gettum and Payup LLC, eager to show you the way to make a million from that hangnail. There is no way anyone in their right mind would buy a policy in a Mutual Insurance Company eager to dive into this shark tank. And if it ever does get started, I advise you to take a wide berth.
The bottom line is this: We have no way of solving the medical nightmare we have gotten ourselves into unless we limit the profit motive. Doctors need to be trained cheaply and maybe even for free, thus eliminating the idea that the doctors make a huge investment in money and expect a huge return. Doctors would be better doctors if they entered the calling for love, not money alone. We need to encourage drug companies to spread development cost more globally so that Americans pay less. We need to educate Americans to believe that an MRI is fine; it needs to be on a reliable machine, not necessarily on an expensive machine. Most Americans without insurance couldn't care less about the newness of the machine they have access to – so long as it does what it says it does. And we need tort reform. Doctors should be free from frivolous law suits, and the costs associated with rear-end covering tests that patients do not need and the paperwork that does little except provide cover in the event of a lawsuit and adds millions to our costs.
No, Mr. Baker, a mutual insurance company will not work here. What we need is courage to change a system we cannot afford. Sadly, conservatives in congress, beholden to the likes of pharmaceutical giants and medical equipment manufacturers, and liberals, beholden to ideals current in the 1960's cannot see that simple common sense and a big dose of courage are the remedies we need. Sadly, they cannot see that what made America great (among other things) was the ability to make game changing decisions for the common good. Instead, they bicker and gossip while millions, in the richest country on earth, are without the basic human right of healthcare. Shame on them.