Wed, 22 Apr 2009

Why is Healthcare so Expensive?

In the U.S. healthcare is very expensive . . . and our outcomes are not all that great. Why is this? Could it be the fact that it's profit based? The contention is that competition drives down costs due to competition, but for healthcare, that doesn't seem to be the case. Insurance and drug companies are some of the wealthiest in the world. They make consistently high profits. And is there some reason why my doctor and the legion or lawyers who go after him for malpractice should earn half a million a year? At every step in the healthcare system in the U.S. people are making a profit. Does this make sense for a system which is at the core of our needs? I don't think so.

Why are our outcomes so poor? I think it's because we don't keep people healthy, we cure them when they become sick. We emphasize expensive treatments for ailments rather than concentrating on the less costly primrary care which prevents the illness in the first place. And we don't insure everyone. Because we don't, they go to expensive emergency rooms for treatments for conditions they wouldn't get if they had basic primary care in the first place.

Our system is based on employment. Now, with nearly 11% of the population unemployed and others employed at jobs which provide no healthcare, the population is suffering more while costs continue to rise.

We have groups involved who are some of the greediest entities in society -- insurance companies and lawyers. They are more interested in profits and billing than actually doing good for anyone.

Sound like I would prefer a socialist system for medicine. You bet I would. I don't believe that anything so basic as healthcare should be left to a profit making machine like an insurance company -- don't even get me started on auto insurance!

posted 16:45 [/Economy] permanent link