Is it easy to agree with Allan Sloan or what?
In my most recent issue of Fortune magazine Allan has an opinion piece about the health care debate. One of Allan's key assertations is that health care is not a free market. Allan makes the comment with certainty, as he should.
I hear, during debates, that a free market will equalize costs and competition will help consumers. But there is no free market. Consumers are hard pressed for choices in health care. If you have a medical emergency, you don't pick the hospital with the lowest admission costs, you pick the hospital that is closest to you. Your insurer negotiates costs and often treatments, by threatening not to pay the health care provider.
This brings up the fundamental question, do we Americans have a right to health care? People often scream socialism if you bring up the topic of universal health care. Another favorite point is that the Constitution doesn't mention free health care for everyone. I believe we have a fundamental right to health care and I didn't come to this conclusion easily.
I'm a conservative by practicality, and a liberal in belief. I wish many of the pure ideals of liberalism where executable in real life, but many simply are not. I hope, as a country, we find a way to provide health care to all citizens. We spend too much on health benefits already. Health care in Australia is universal and in 2005 health care spending made up 8.8% of GDP. In the U.S.A. we spend approximately 15.3% of our GDP on health care and care is not universal.
Clearly something is wrong, and we need to fix it.
Allan Sloan on health care.
MY TWO CENTS
ReplyDeleteMatt,I think one thing needs to be taken into account that so many people miss, America is a country of spoiled urchins. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but Americans are very comfortable living beyond there means. Necessities for Americans extend far beyond that of many other countries. Americans feel like they deserve a new car whenever a neighbor gets one.
It's interesting that universal health care works so well in Australia, but consider the fact that you could use Australia as a model, configure, reconfigure and reconfigure our system and still never come out with the same result, or even a positive result because Americans are different. Our current health care system is suffering simply because we are Americans.
I feel there needs not be a change in policy, but the recognition that steps can be taken to work the system the way it was meant to be worked. My knowledge falls short in terms of what the many difficulties are, but I do doubt that our current system is broken beyond repair. What do you think?
Logan:
ReplyDeleteAmericans certainly have a sense of entitlement, (hell we refer to ourselves as Americans and not U.S. citizens). But we also innovate and produce many high-tech and revolutionary things. We need streamline the health care industry, which is mostly dominated by paper charts.
I think the idea that a free market exists in health care is laughable. Most hospitals are run as not for profits. Nothing in this world motivates people like profits. If hospitals had to compete to offer health care to patients, at the lowest competitive price, many inefficiencies would be taken out of the system. Also if patients with health insurance didn't have to subsidies uncovered patients, prices would come down.