NetHorse

My dad sent me this email when I got in a debate with him about health care in this country.

For Public Health Care

1. *The number of uninsured citizens has grown to over 45 million .*
Since health care premiums continue to grow at several times the
rate of inflation, many businesses are simply choosing to not
offer a health plan, or if they do, to pass on more of the cost to
employees. Employees facing higher costs themselves are often
choosing to go without health coverage. No health insurance
doesn't necessarily mean no health care since there are many
clinics and services that are free to indigent individuals.
However, any costs not covered by insurance must be absorbed by
all the rest of us, which means even higher premiums. In all
fairness, the 45 million uninsured number has been called into
question
<http://risch.senate.gov/public/?p=BreakdownoftheUninsured> since
in includes illegal immigrants, people making over $75K who choose
not to buy coverage, and others who have options for coverage but
choose not to get it. The true number of people without options is
closer to 15 million.

2. *Health care has become increasingly unaffordable for businesses
and individuals.* Businesses and individuals that choose to keep
their health plans still must pay a much higher amount. Remember,
businesses only have a certain amount of money they can spend on
labor. If they must spend more on health insurance premiums, they
will have less money to spend on raises, new hires, investment,
and so on. Individuals who must pay more for premiums have less
money to spend on rent, food, and consumer goods; in other words,
less money is pumped back into the economy. Thus, health care
prevents the country from making a robust economic recovery. A
simpler government-controlled system that reduces costs would go a
long way in helping that recovery.

3. *We can eliminate wasteful inefficiencies such as duplicate paper
work, claim approval, insurance submission, etc.* Think back to
all the times in your life you've had to fill out a medical
history, answering the same questions over and over. Think about
all the insurance paperwork you've had to fill out and submit. Our
current health care system generates an enormous amount of
overhead. Every time we go to the doctor, a claim must be
submitted, an approval department has to go over the claim, checks
have to be mailed, patients are sent co-pay bills, and so on. The
thing that's especially wasteful is that each doctor's office
usually maintains their own record-keeping system. A universal
healthcare plan would allow us to build one centralized system.
There would be no need for maintaining insurance information or
wasting time submitting claims. The work savings in the banking
and postal areas alone would be worth billions every year.

4. *We can develop a centralized national database which makes
diagnosis and treatment easier for doctors.* Most doctor's offices
maintain a separate record-keeping system. This is why you always
have to fill out a lengthy health history whenever you go to a new
physician. This is a problem for several reasons. First of all,
it's wasteful of both time and money. Second of all, patients may
lie, forget, or do a poor job of explaining past medical problems.
Doctors need accurate information to make a proper diagnosis. Last
of all, separate systems means we have a tougher time analyzing
data at a national level. For example, are incidents of a certain
disease dropping? How often is a certain illness associated with a
specific set of symptoms? A centralized national system would
allow us to do data analysis that we never dreamed possible,
leading to medical advances and increased diagnosis efficiency.
The main argument against a centralized database is that certain
insurance providers may deny coverage if they find certain past
medical problems. However, if the government is paying for
everything, that should never be a problem.

5. *Medical professionals can concentrate on healing the patient
rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc.*
Doctors have to take classes now simply to understand all the
insurance plans out there; they are often restricted by insurance
practices, such as what tests can be ordered. Doctors must
practice defensive medicine to avoid getting sued. Some physicians
are even leaving the profession rather than deal with all these
non-medical headaches. A simplified universal health system would
allow doctors, nurses, and other medical professions to simply
focus on doing what's best for the patient. Medicine is a complex
enough subject as it is. Our current system just adds to an
already mentally-draining profession.

6. *Free medical services would encourage patients to practice
preventive medicine and inquire about problems early when
treatment will be light; currently, patients often avoid physicals
and other preventive measures because of the costs.* Because many
people are uninsured and those that do have insurance face high
deductibles, Americans often forego doctor visits for minor health
problems or for preventive medicine. Thus, health problems that
could be caught at an early stage or prevented altogether become
major illnesses. Things like routine physicals, mammograms, and
HIV tests could prevent major problems. This not only affects the
health of the patient but the overall cost of the system, since
preventive medicine costs only a small fraction of a full blown
disease. A government-provided system would remove the
disincentive patients have for visiting a medical professional.

7. *Patients with pre-existing conditions can still get health
coverage.* One of the biggest weaknesses of our current health
care systems is that patients with a past or current medical
condition such as cancer or asthma often cannot obtain affordable
health coverage. Some insurance companies won't even give a policy
to such individuals, or if they do, they will cover everything BUT
their past diagnosed conditions. Anyone with an expensive illness
or disease must then often face one of two choices: use up all
their own money, or leave the condition untreated. In a universal
system, no one with a pre-existing condition would be denied
coverage. People could change jobs without fearing the loss of
health insurance.

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