UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE: Communistic Or Common Sense? -pt 2
/Commentary and opinion by Chris Stevenson
Email pointblankdta@yahoo.com
Number 8 on a list of "things you have to believe to be a republican"
is "providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, providing
health care to all Americans is socialism." Now this list basically
pokes fun at all the best-known standard beliefs of the republican
party, government is right now content to have/or use conservative
politicians and talk-radio grunts to train you to dislike good detailed
plans that are actually closer to the realm of achievement than most of
us think, such as free national health care.
Part one of this essay disclosed how the reforming of the prescription
drug industry, pharmaceutical industry, and Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) can become reality through the elimination of
price gouging, and the reduction of review time, and overall approval
time (the time of a new drug's discovery, and FDA approval). Under this
rule pharmacy firms pay $330 million in user fees to the FDA over five
years. It was initially thought that when Congress authorized the
Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) in 1992, much of those problems
would be solved by now. But what may have been overlooked was the
average clinical development time (FDA directed human testing), from
5.5 years to 7.2 years.
Whereas a recent study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and
Public Citizen revealed that bureaucracy within the health care
industry cost the US almost $400 billion ($399.4 billion), $285 billion
of that can be saved by National Health Insurance (NHI) annually on
paperwork alone. According to these researchers that's enough to insure
the whole US population, in other words don't listen to those
know-it-all conservatives who claim it can't be done, we've already
been paying for universal health care without even knowing or receiving
it. Of course don't expect this to happen soon, the health care
bureaucracy was designed to stick it to you, not convenience you. As
much money as insurance companies are costing the government, don't
expect Washington to turn on them, insurance executives would climb out
their windows and jump at the mere thought of any benefit to the
patient. At least that's what almost happened to Canada during the
'60's, only it was their doctors who started the lunacy.
On July 1 1962 Saskatchewan's government introduced the first public
health care program, the first Canadian province to do so. 90% of the
region's doctors went on strike, but returned after 3 weeks. The bitter
feelings divided a whole nation against doctors, insurance companies,
and big business. Though the rest of the country followed suit, doctors
started "extra-billing" in '78 in order to profit more. Eventually
extra-billing was banned in '84. It's not that I'm implying that
doctors shouldn't make good money, but part of what makes doctors fall
into the role of villains is the medical and insurance industry running
out of control (unaffordable). How are we to anticipate American
doctors to react to a national health measure? The best litmus test is
to initiate a national program state by state, as did Canada with
provinces.
"We're already paying for universal coverage. We're just not getting
it," blared Dennis Kucinich during his ill-fated presidential campaign.
"We're pouring a large portion of every health care dollar into the
waste of the private insurance companies, their executive salaries and
stock options, their lobbying and advertising." Kucinich's plan was
called "Enhanced Medicare for All." He feels this would put doctors and
patients in control of the system, as opposed to insurance companies:
"And it does not cost any extra money. Coverage will be more complete
than private insurance plans, encourage prevention, and include
prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative
and complimentary medicine." Kucinich sees his plan phased in over a
ten-year period. Actually he was the only candidate in the early '04
presidential campaign to have such a detailed health care plan. I think
this is a plan that should be considered even though the Congressman is
out of the presidential running.
One conservative opponent Thomas Sowell snapped back with typical
response: "Insurance companies... have to make money in order to keep
functioning. So does every individual who was not born rich. But some
people react to the word "profit" with automatic responses, like
Pavlov's dog." Of course it works both ways, we all know how
republicans react to the word "socialism?" Cuba of course is not as
wealthy as Canada and especially the US, but for a small island of over
11,000,000 with a life expectancy of 76.1 years they do pretty good.
What they have are 53 physicians per population of 1,000, and 60
hospitals per 1,000, and the infant mortality rate is 7.2 deaths per
1,000 live births (Cuba's is comparable to US figures despite
embargoes, Canada's mortality rate is 2% lower than the US, according
to a recent study by Dr. Gorden Guyatt. This amounts to 2,200 less
deaths per year). What would you prefer, some hick label, or good
coverage for free? In Canada, as in Cuba you simply do not get billed
for medical coverage, it's quite possible to be able to walk into a
large major hospital in Canada, literally look for the billing office
and not find them until you get to a small office in the basement: "A
Canadian hospital negotiates it's annual budget with the provincial
health plan and receives a single check each month to cover virtually
all of it's expenses," stated Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate
professor of medicine at Harvard, and former staff physician at Public
Citizen's Health Research Group. Sounds like sound policy to me, common
sense.
Stevenson is a columnist for the Buffalo Criterion. Pointblank can be
read at www.voiceoffreedom.com,email comments to Stevenson at
pointblankdta@yahoo.com