This article makes some good points about healthcare. Most of the problem, in my opinion, lies in the way we think about healthcare. We accept the fact that people make different salaries, have different houses, and shop at different stores, yet when it comes to healthcare, we think everyone should have whatever it is they need. So with the push starting again for nationalized healthcare, I would like to make a few points.
1. Nationalized healthcare won't level the playing field like people think it will. I lived in Denmark for a summer, with a Danish family, taking an International Business course while working on my MBA. They had free healthcare, and the government held down costs well. But as a result, doctors didn't make as much as they do here, so the "best and brightest" didn't usually become doctors. Since some procedures took a long time to get done, private clinics began to show up to do these for you. Who goes to the private clinics? The rich. Thus even with "nationalized healthcare", the rich get better treatment. (you can read this about the Danish healthcare system).
2. Prices have gone up in part because we can treat more diseases. Let's say it is 1900 and you have asthma. What can you do? Nothing. So then someone comes along and invents some asthma medicine that can make your life better, but it costs $20 a month. Your healthcare costs have gone up, but your life is better so why do you complain? You complain because Americans have developed this attitude that all of us should be able to have everything we want. John Doe doesn't have asthma, so the government should pay for your asthma medicine to make you equal to John Doe.
3. What is the purpose of the healthcare system? Is is to prevent us from getting sick? Is it to fix us when we do get sick? Depending on which view you take, the solution to the rising healthcare costs could take a very different approach.
4. Who's responsible for your health? I run 30 miles a week, lift weights once or twice, and play basketball if I have any free time on the weekends. I don't eat much fast food, I do eat lots of vegetables, and I take my vitamins. My healthcare costs are pretty low. So, should I be responsible for John Doe's health care costs if he smokes, eats big macs and drinks tequila all day? No. I don't think so. That takes away part of my incentive to be healthy (although I would still do it just to feel good), and rewards bad behavior at my expense.
So what should we do…?
First of all cut out the middle man. Insurers squeeze doctors and squeeze patients. Get them out of the way and let the free-market set prices, not insurance companies.
Secondly, embrace technology. Why can't I log on to a web site, type in my symptoms, and make an appointment. Then if the doctor thinks my symptoms aren't too serious, he can send me an email and a prescription. Or, he could refer me to a specialist without wasting the time for me to visit his office (when I might have already known I needed to see a specialist anyway). It seems to me that doctors are WAY behind in using technology to become more efficient.
And finally, publish information on physicians for everyone to access. This should be the government's role. List each doctor's credentials, number of errors or malpractice suits, and comments from other patients. Then their salaries will be more proportional to their skill.
This does leave one question. What happens to people who are REALLY sick? Well, that is where health insurance steps in. It should still exist, but it should be used for high cost catastrophic stuff – like car insurance or home insurance is. You don't go through your insurance company every time your house needs a leaky pipe fixed – you use it when your whole house burns down.
