My Views on Health Care

In my last post I posed three questions that we, Americans, should answer as we discuss health care in our nation. I will now answer these questions for myself.

First, I am not happy with our current system. Medical technology has developed to become wonders; but they have also become expensive. Few can actually afford the tests and treatments modern medicine offers. Our drugs are also expensive, as are doctor visits. My family relies on health insurance to afford any medical care at all.

Since 1979, when I began my career, our medical insurance benefits have cost us more and the service has degraded. Now, it seems that the insurance company is more of an adversary than our advocate. They routinely deny coverage for treatments that they pre-approved. We must spend hours on the phone to get them to pay what they say they cover. I know of many people who are bankrupt because of cancer or some other major medical problem. And then my son, an American working in Argentina had life saving surgery that was fully covered by their national health insurance. What would have cost him thousands of dollars, cost him nothing. Now that he came back to the US, he can be insured because of his existing condition... cancer.

Do I think everyone should have adequate (what ever that may mean) health care? Yes. I also believe that everyone should willingly, and gladly contribute to such a system. I believe believe that food, housing, education, and health care are all necessary to personal and state welfare. We should decide to take care of everyone.

Now for the hardest question: Can we afford universal health care? Looking at statistics, Americans spend more for health care per capita than Canada, Japan, and European nations; and we are less healthy. The average is over $1,000 per person. My family is currently just above that average. I would gladly pay my total health care costs in taxes for a system that would take of us without the current hassles. If everyone else did the same we could pay for universal health care. It is a matter of will.

It's just me... and what I believe.