Here, I thought this economy shit was caused by ill-considered monetary policy or evil capitalists making profits or something like that. Turns out, the problem is "a health care system that is breaking America’s families, breaking America’s businesses, and breaking America’s economy."
This is the recent claim by President Obama, and luckily for him, it means he can fix the economy and push through his pet domestic project at the same time. Brilliant!
Problem is, the idea is totally absurd. America's families, businesses and economy are breaking at the moment, but to pretend that our health care system is anything but a minor contributor at worst is disingenuous. The president knows that the public's greatest fears at the moment are centered around the economy, and he shamefully attempts to present his expensive and counter-productive health care plan as part of the solution.
We spend more than any other country for health care, but do not boast the longest life expectancy, lowest infant mortality, lowest rates of cancer, healthiest birth weights, nor tallest people - an indicator of effective prenatal care, in additon to a genetic component. If we're honestly talking about both health and cost, why aren't we trying to make ourselves resemble Finland as much as possible. Finland, who trumps us in every quality of health indicator (while also costing less), as well as being the most competitive economy in the world.
ReplyDeletePart of Henry Ford's genius was making a car the masses could afford. And you can bet that if cars because too costly to operate, and people had to forego them entirely, that the masses would agitate for a change. With health care, an increasing number of the middle class with full-time jobs are without health insurance, and it's gaining a critical mass. High time we catch up to Scandinavia.
None of these indicators have nearly so much to do with medical care as they do with lifestyle differences. The better indicator of the jobs our respective healthcare systems are doing is to look at how people do once they get the diseases, and the United States does far better than even the best the European-style systems have to offer. Cancer survival rates, for instance, are significantly higher in the United States. No ridiculous government health care scheme is going to reduce the cancer rates that we start with. We also lead the world in access to quality of life enhancing procedures such as hip replacements, cataract surgeries and various other procedures you'll be glad to have access to in a few decades. Infant mortality is part lifestyle differences and part American aversion to aborting a fetus at the first sign that it might not be perfectly healthy.
ReplyDeleteMedicare.
ReplyDelete