The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    SleepinJeezus's picture

    "Stop the Bleeding!" First a Cure, then Recovery for Health Care System

    By SleepinJeezus on Sun, 08/02/2009 - 3:15pm |
    The fact that most other industrialized countries are spending 50% less and receiving better care would seem to indicate that there is a structural failure in our health care system. Wild guess here, but I'm betting that a "health INSURANCE system" simply introduces too many parasites into the effort to provide efficient and effective health care to our citizenry.

    I, for one, can state unequivocally that there is not ONE insurance company executive that ever provided for me ANYTHING that can even remotely be considered health care. And this is not a specious argument made in favor of universal single payer health care (at best!) or at least a "public option." It is simply common sense that seeks the elimination of the health insurance industry as the primary "cure" that is necessary to be undertaken before we can accomplish the systemic reforms needed to achieve adequate health care as a right for everyone in the United States.

    I watched in amazement one Congressional hearing that included three Health Insurance Company CEO's testifying about rescissions. It was disgusting to learn of the incredibly cruel games they play - accepting monthly premiums from healthy people and immediately dropping coverage for same when they become ill - to preserve and enhance company profits. By their own accounting, over 20,000 "customers" of just these three companies were suddenly denied health insurance coverage at their moment of need per year.
      
    As I watched, my thoughts became centered upon the impact that would be felt if these three execs were to simply "disappear" from our health care system. The removal of the expense of their salaries and compensation benefits of just these three execs from the overall health care "budget" would allow for free health care for my family and the families of my nearly 100 co-workers (with, tangentially, undoubtedly enough left over to cover the salaries of most of them as well).

    How many such CEO's are we supporting with our health care dollars? How many duplicative staff and services are we supporting at each of these companies? At what cost in health care dollars being spent?

    There is a demand for universal, single payer health care among the grass roots that will not be quieted. It is for reason that people see the same waste and inefficiencies of our "health INSURANCE system" that is so readily apparent to me, and they apply a common sense toward a solution. If we are truly serious about cutting waste, forget about diversionary talk about arbitrarily cutting physicians salaries or other such nonsense. Get the bloodsuckers off our back first, then let's talk about genuine recovery of our health care system.