Key to Healthcare Reform Is an Honest Discussion With Voters

With all the noise surrounding Healthcare Reform, the best question I heard so far came from Sen. Tom Daschle, "Are we building this system for the insurance or the American people?" I believe Obama's intent is for the American people.

50 million Americans are uninsured. Employed Americans are concerned about healthcare coverage for themselves and their family’s if/when they get laid off. The only Americans with any assurance of healthcare coverage are seniors 65+ through Medicare. With premiums on the rise and no coverage for pre-existing conditions, very few people can afford healthcare coverage through the existing insurance market. Why is it so difficult for these hecklers to understand that reform is necessary? They don't seem like the people who can afford private health insurance. Why spread malicious lies like "death panels" and "killing grandma"? This is nothing more than racist propaganda. These hecklers hold signs saying that Obama is Hitler. The true fascists are these hecklers. Nothing scares them more than a popular black President who wants to do good by the American people.

It is unpatriotic to not provide healthcare for everyone. Give Americans the security and comfort that they need. When they fall ill, they can get the care they need. Healthcare should be a human right and an American right!

I have worked in both for profit and non-profit health systems. There are multiple reasons for high cost in healthcare but most notable are Physicians, Unions, employee benefit cost (healthcare employers pay for employees), and malpractice.

Physicians may publicly announce that their focus is for quality of care and better patient outcomes. This may be true of those physicians who hold their practice true to the Hippocratic Oath but not so for many others. Many specialty care physicians lack the compassion for their patients and care only for increasing their bottom-line. These specialists are arrogant and have god like complexes. They would order expensive implants for patients rather than order cost effective items that provide the same quality outcomes. Cost of supplies has increase significantly in hospitals due to these Physicians' arrogance and lack of regard for the cost management. People who have had devices implanted in their bodies know the price tag. Why do you think your charges are high? This is partly because physicians have an "understanding" with the manufacturing of these devices and refuse to use similar cost-effective devices from competitors. This drives up hospital costs increase the patient's charges.

In most healthcare organizations, the biggest cost is their labor cost. A big contributor to this cost is Union. Unions have played a huge part increasing labor for costs for the healthcare organizations. Union employees get 5-7% increases in raises every year, non-union employees 1-3%. How is this fair for non-union employees? They have to care for their families as much as Union employees. How have these union employees contributed to the better care of the patients with their higher raises? If we look at the auto-industry, what is one of the contributors of their downfall? Union contracts. Auto unions negotiated contracts in such a way that union members who have been laid off got paid for not working. Ludicrous! Bottom-line, if healthcare organizations have to pay more; they will have to charge more and pass that cost onto patients. Unions just need to go away. Many states have labor laws protecting employees. Unions have not done anything to protect employees. Many employees who joined a union (some unwillingly and only due to their job group) have reported to me that their union rep would not return their calls. How is this protecting and representing the interests of the union members if they are not willing to listen to them?

In addition to higher raises, union employees often get better benefits due to union contracts. This brings me to the 3rd contribution of higher cost in healthcare, employee benefits. Cost for benefits increases due to higher premium costs charged by insurance companies. Insurance companies are charging more because healthcare organizations are negotiating higher reimbursement to cover their higher costs, covering supply costs incur by physicians and covering union rate increases. Yes, it is a vicious circle which we must break.

Last but not least, malpractice cost contributes a significant amount of cost to healthcare organizations. I empathize with families who have lost a family member due to negligence. I believe that there should be laws to protect patients from wrongful practices. At the same time, I would urge my fellow Americans to use sound judgment and not be litigious. I prefer not to reform tort laws but would support such reform if they are necessary to reduce costs in the healthcare industry at the same time must maintain accountability on providers who acted in negligence in the care for the patients.

Some of the points I have made may sound conservative but I am not one. I am a rational person who believes strongly in healthcare reform, reducing healthcare cost, to make healthcare affordable for all Americans. I am a proponent of caring for the poor and vulnerable. I have proposed ways to "cut the fat" out of healthcare and would like some of this fat go towards caring for the poor and vulnerable of our society. No American should fear going to the doctor for preventive care for fear of not being able to afford it. As I said before, healthcare should be a human right and an American right.

Pro-Reform of CA 11:59PM August 17, 2009

Are the american people this selfish? The ones who have insurance seem to care less about the millions who dont, we should be ashamed. Despite what the radio talks guys spew forth the U.S. does not have the best health care system in the world, far from it. Since this is going to take a lot of money and no one seemsa to want any raise in their taxes, maybe we should put pressure on the Doctors and hospitals to reign in their costs. I've been charged over $200 for a 6 min. office consultation. Come On!! Hospitals are known to way over charge for the simplest things and even put charges in their bill for things not done, This happened to our son inlaw and a friend. Probably us too but the bills can be so confusing and medical jargon that's hard to understand so I dont know for a fact. Everyone involved in medicine is GREEDY.

Peggy Lenke of WA 6:58PM June 19, 2009

Hmmm... Health Care for All Uninsured Americans is Simple!

1) Merge Medicare with Medicade into a single "Income Based" system.

2) Allow insurance companies to offer "Medigap" coverage to all participants.

As for Funding...

1) Changing from an "Emergency Treatment" to a "Preventative Care" system will save local communities billions, maybe even trillions of taypayer dollars!

2) Small business will be able to compete globally and hire additional taxpaying employees!

3) Wealthy seniors will pay their fair share!

4) The tremendous burden on future generations will be greatly reduced!

jpinsatx of TX 11:53AM May 14, 2009