My Thought on Healthcare.

I've been wanting for a long time to write something about healthcare. I've waited because the topic is so complex, I haven't felt like I had anything interesting to add. That really hasn't changed but I've decided to put pen to paper more to clarify what I think about the issue more than anything. Which brings me to my first larger point.

How I feel about the situation is very different from what I think about it. I feel like everybody should get healthcare regardless of their ability to pay for it. I feel like every human life is precious and we must make the extraordinary effort to save it, regardless of what we personally believe about the quality of that life. Unfortunately, my brain knows that this is unrealistic.

The response I often get when I bring up this topic is Europe. If Europe can provide national healthcare, why can't we. Well, there are several reasons. At a geopolitical level, Europe has been able to pay for their grand social programs because they have not taken responsibility for their own defense. Their lifestyle is maintained by American blood and treasure. Rightly so-- we entered into the Breton Woods agreement with them after WWII. We assured them that we would be the ultimate consumer for their products and that we would maintain global security so they would not have to rearm. Why did we do this? The results of European arms races were WWI and WWII. Nobody wanted to go through that again.

Even with our deal, this system is fast crumbling because European economies have not kept pace with health care costs. This is especially true with the influx of Muslim immigrants who often consume a great deal of the social programs without contributing very much to the State coffers. Because of this hard economic fact, doctors in France will not perform extraordinary procedures to save a life. If a person comes in needing expensive surgery, they tell that person that such procedures are not covered and send them to the South of France to die in peace. Such is the result of socialized medicine. Life becomes of matter of gross economics.

In addition, because of the raw number of people, the systems are often faulty, particularly in diagnostics. My friends grandfather comes to America from England for all his medical needs because he cannot stand the indignity of British Healthcare. I know what he means. I was, unfortunately, subject to such socialized medicine in Taipei, Taiwan during a stay there. I sat in a room with a doctor who didn't even look me in the eye once. Nor did she examine me personally. She asked me the most personal questions while there were three other people in her office waiting for her attention. It wasn't that I didn't get proper care though I know I didn't. It was the sheer indignity of the event that still sticks with me.

And European countries don't have the population size that we have. I've also had to deal with health care in Hawaii where the health system is strained to the breaking point by a unhealthy population. My doctors neglected me sorely, to the point I had to move to another state to receive proper care. I ran a high fever for 2 weeks and my doctor did nothing. I was urinating blood and he still did not act. I quite sure that I would have expired without much fanfare had I stayed. I don't think he was a bad man. I just know he was overburdened by a backlog of patients. Numbers, as any competent manager knows, can play havoc with a system.

Most importantly, I believe that people make the mistake of thinking that doctors are interchangeable. They are not. I've had close contact with the medical profession all my life given my profession and proclivities. I've probably had the pleasure of meeting over a hundred doctors. Out of all of them, I can confidently say that 3 of them were competent. How do I know? By the results of their treatment. Most of the time, I got better care from a PA or a medic.

So the question is this. Are we willing to give everybody mediocre healthcare just so they can be covered? If we answer "yes" to this, it will require tort reform as the lawsuits that will ensue as a result of the callous care will boondoggle our Court system for a eon. The rich will always be able to afford first rate health care because there will always be people who are willing to cater to them. So are we willing to force those doctors to treat only those uber-rich who can afford them? That is what will happen.

The health care system needs reform but I think it must happen on the Insurance side. Right now, the insurance companies can deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. The only way around this is (in California) is the Major Risk plan which is very expensive and has a long waiting period. Your only other option is to have insurance through you company. They cannot deny you for any reason if you are in a group. If they can pass allow to force the insurance companies to give groups insurance, I don't see why they can't do that for individuals-- especially individuals who would pay. So a good solution, I think is a law forcing insurance companies to insure anybody who wanted insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions. They could have different prices for different situations but the max you should have to pay monthly for insurance is 1000 or so.

Whatever the case, health care should be left as is or made mandatory-- if it is to be a government program. Even if it's cheap, people still won't pay for it and we'll be in the same position we are now. If it's a government program, it has to be mandatory or we really solve nothing.

Ultimately, I think it should be a person's choice. But if they don't have the foresight and discipline to pay for insurance when they are young and healthy, they should have to pay a penalty in price if and when they are older and sick. As somebody who has had close contact with socialized medicine, I know it doesn't work. It's like all grand government programs. They sound good on paper but are hell to administer. I'm reminded of Mosca's Iron Law: For no matter what reason an organization was started, it will sooner or later serve to further the goals of its leaders.