Universal Health Care

Upset by her driving, he rear-ends
woman at 100 mph, says God told
him He wanted her off the road.

Sometimes I guess I have to remind people that this is a blog, not a scientific treatise. It deals mostly with opinions, mine and others. It is based on my reading on the internet and elsewhere, as well as on conversations and correspondence with others. Then, after some thought an opinion is reached. If you disagree with my opinions you are free to comment. I promise not to confuse you with facts if you promise not to complain about the lack of footnotes and precise references. With this in mind, let me comment on the subject of universal health care:

I read today in a couple of places that a consensus might be growing for universal health care. I believe this may be true. The main reason I think so is because I believe our corporations, especially in the automobile industry but others as well, have learned that having to pay for their employees health benefits makes them less competitive. So what better solution for them than having the taxpayer foot the bill for health insurance? Thus I think it is pretty likely that we will see some form of universal health care fairly soon. The price we are going to pay, however, is going to be dear. This is because we will have to include the Insurance industry, along with the pharmaceuticals and medical profession, and everyone else involved that will have to profit from the plan. In other words, it is to be a for-profit scheme. While this may make sense and be fair for the doctors, nurses, and even the drug industry, it certainly should not have to include the insurance industry. Anyone I know about who has studied this universal health care problem knows that the most efficient and economical system would be a single-payer plan without the insurance people involved. After all, why should the insurance people be involved in medicine at all? Why should a patient be at the mercy of some insurance bureaucrat telling him and his doctor how he should be treated and for how long and etc.? It makes no sense at all. But we are unlikely to get a universal health care plan without the insurance people. Neither Obama nor Hillary suggested a plan that would bypass insurance. And the insurance lobby is so powerful they can probably block any plan that does not deal them in. When they once asked the famous bank robber, Willie Sutton, why he robbed banks, he replied “that’s where the money is.” This is the same (and probably only) reason the insurance business should muscle into the health care business. This is every bit as bad, and perhaps worse, than Congress being involved in the drug business. Drugs, and drug abuse, are medical problems, not political ones, but our politicians seem unable and unwilling to admit it, the result of which is thousands of non-violent drug offenders clogging up our prisons and engaging in criminal acts that could easily be reduced.

Along these lines you may have noticed that Switzerland has legalized their program for heroin users. After a 14 year experiment they have reduced heroin crime related problemes by 60%, allowed many heroin users to pursue their employment, and are in general quite pleased with this program. The Netherlands, too, has experimented with legalized drugs successfully. Canada, Mexico, and other countries are or will be legalizing marijuana (and quite likely other drugs as well). Of course we couldn’t be expected to learn anything from other countries.

In any case, universal health care is certainly worth doing, even if it does involve the insurance companies. Perhaps after trying it for a while everyone will realize we could do it much less expensively by changing to a single-payer plan. Of course we’d have to overcome our ridiculous fear of (dare I even mention it) socialism. This is one really nutty country we are living in. There is always hope.

LKBIQ:
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Krishnamurti

TILT:
In 1943 the movie, For Whom the Bell Tolls, received 9 academy award nominations. Only Katina Paxinou won for Best Supporting Actress. Akim Tamiroff probably should have won Best Supporting Actor.