The Commonwealth Fund

We've had a good deal of nonsense said about healthcare reform, spouted by those who could be called "the usual suspects". Who are they? A motley crew of Congressmen and Senators on the take from the Insurance "Industry" and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Marketers, shills for the healthcare "industry" who are to some extent or a great extent disguising their affiliation with an interested party in this debate. Why is everyone raving about the concept of healthcare reform? Because health care, in all its forms, is an enormous private industry in this country.

Think about it. You might sort of like a new car, but that's a purchase you can usually defer. When you feel like you need a new liver, or you will die, that's not a "discretionary purchase". A lot of medical decisions that one makes are life-changing. Big Insurance and Big Pharma know that. While other industries have tanked in recent years, those involved in providing medical care and medical insurance have been blasting along at a rate that has been making the wealthy even wealthier, but in consequence the costs of medical care, be it through insurance and co- pay costs or through direct payments, has skyrocketed. Everyone loves skyrockets, right? Fourth of July, the Star Spangled Banner, it really is a part of our national belief system that things should go up and up and up; stocks, bonds, real estate, women's breasts, men's "parts"... and by Golly they should stay up (consult your doctor if you experience an inflationary bubble that lasts more than four years). We're a country that grows, that builds, that paves over whatever failed in the past and that likes to rewrite history to prove that we have always been winners. I feel better now, don't you? Let's all go out and buy some Health Insurance, to celebrate.

And in the addle-pated "debate" over healthcare reform, who ya gonna trust? Some Senator who sounds like a jerk? A paid flack? An aspiring sociopath from Alaska? You betcha. Fools and blaggards, the lot of them. Instead it might be worth reading this long and tiresomely-detailed report by a private foundation who have been tracking the issue for decades. Fair warning here, there be graphs and there be logic. If that is a deal-breaker, then just step back and don't go here. But if you feel adventurous, this may help put the issue into perspective. It does not answer every question or resolve every concern, but in one stroke it does a better job of laying out the issue than anything I have ever seen. I found myself nodding my head in agreement. I have SEEN and lived through some of what is discussed and I suspected some other parts. When I was growing up my mother was surprised to find out that her doctor and his wife used powered milk, to save money. That's another part of the puzzle. Doctors are a lot better paid these days. I think one thing we should consider is helping students through Medical School, so they can graduate without soul-numbing debts, which they are forced to charge high fees to repay, after which they feel that since they have suffered for so long, now it is time for them to be rewarded by being able to keep collecting those high fees. It's a vicious cycle, that we all pay the price for.

Arthur

More on the same topic:

How Health Insurance Premiums Are Eating Up American Middle-Class Incomes

Something rather remarkable happened on Tuesday’s Morning Joe. Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York pointed out that the health insurance industry has no clothes, and Joe Scarborough, after first trying to spin it some gossamer threads, broke down and said, By God, you’re right, this emperor is a naked money-making machine! Click HERE