It seems as though healthcare is on everyone’s mind, with the hostile town meetings and overblown rhetoric by pundits dominating the landscape.
And there is certainly much to talk about.
Americans know that healthcare costs are rising each year.
According to reports, the U.S. spends nearly twice the average of other developed nations on healthcare — $7,421 per person in 2007. The average American spends more on healthcare than housing or food.
There are also significant disparities in healthcare correlated to income and minority status, resulting in higher incidence and reduced care in obesity, cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes.
Additionally, nearly 46 million Americans do not have healthcare at all.
One of the major topics of discussion at recent town-hall meetings and in the media is the concept of having a public option — in essence, a government-run insurance provider to compete with privately held insurance companies.
This concept, essentially Medicare and Medicaid for the rest of us, is making people very nervous. Some have compared healthcare reform to a Nazi policy (U.S. Rep. Barney Frank responded to the speaker by asking her what planet she spent most of her time on, and then said, “Ma’am, having a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it.”) Some have attended town-hall meetings with assault weapons in tow, courtesy of open-carry laws.
For the public option, critics say it will increase wait times for treatment and increase mistakes, ultimately costing lives.
Supporters say it will create a safety net for the millions who have no care at all, and improve preventative care, resulting in improved health and reduced costs.
There’s no doubt that the system needs reform. Even if moving to a single-payer system is too far of a leap, making sure that average Americans can afford healthcare is essential to ensuring that America has a competitive edge in the global economy.
And if you aren’t sure the insurance companies are ripping you off, consider this: Philly.com recently published a list of the highest-paid CEOs in the 10-county region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem, N.J.; and New Castle, Del.)
Of the top 25, 11 are in the fields of healthcare, pharmaceutical or retail pharmacy. Their salaries range from $11 million to $21 million.
Someone is making a bundle off of you and me.