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News Articles of Interest
Congress Must Respond To Costly Healthcare Problem
(Published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan 12/15/04)
Today, 45 million Americans have no healthcare
insurance, including millions of retirees, unemployed workers and
children. Many working families cannot afford healthcare insurance even
with two family members working. Last year, 82 million Americans had no
insurance for some time period. In Colorado, 760,000 legal residents are
un-insured. The National Coalition on Healthcare (NCHC) projects the
number of un-insured Americans to grow to 52 million by 2006.
The problem of un-insured Americans is a national
embarrassment. In a few years, when the baby boomer generation retires, it
will become a national tragedy. Congress must act now to head off this
crisis. The cost of healthcare is escalating at 3-4 times the annual rate
of inflation. While we claim to have the best health care system in the
world, it has become unaffordable for too many Americans. Last year
brought cost increases of 14%; the last four years have seen cost
increases of over 50%. NCHC estimates that employer sponsored healthcare
costs will rise from $9500 today to $14,500 by 2006.
The millions of uninsured Americans and illegal
aliens that obtain healthcare through the use of emergency rooms, the most
expensive form of treatment, are big contributors to the cost of
healthcare. These costs are passed along to people that have insurance as
higher premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Catastrophic and terminal
illnesses such as cancer, chronic heart disease, organ transplants and
aids treatments also consume a disproportionate share of healthcare
expenses. The system is heavily burdened by excessive overhead costs,
profiteering, and ludicrous prescription drug costs. There is something
terribly wrong with a system that permits the sale of American produced
prescription drugs from Canada at half the cost of those same drugs in the
United States.
Congress has shown little interest in attacking this
problem. Numerous drug importation/re-importation bills and healthcare
reform bills are currently setting in Congress collecting dust. The only
legislation enacted is the poorly crafted Medicare prescription drug Bill
that provides huge cash incentives to industry to maintain drug programs
that many already have in place and rewards the drug companies by
preventing Medicare from negotiating discount drug prices as the Veteran’s
Administration currently does. The cost estimates for this corporate “pork
barrel” legislation are staggering and the benefits provided to Medicare
recipients are “austere” at best. Congress has voted itself a cozy
lifetime healthcare package paid for by American taxpayers. Why can’t the
rest of our citizens share similar benefits?
President Bush has proposed healthcare savings
accounts, malpractice insurance reforms, small business purchasing groups
and various tax incentives as solutions. These are patchwork proposals
that do not attack the real problem; the cost of healthcare insurance is
too high and shows no signs of abatement. Americans pay more for
healthcare than any other democracy and the healthcare received is poorer
by any measurable standard. People that can afford to deposit money in
healthcare savings accounts can probably afford to pay their own
healthcare insurance premiums. Most senior citizens, un-insured children,
students and unemployed Americans cannot afford this luxury.
Several national advocacy organizations have made
proposals to address the healthcare issue. The National Coalition on
Healthcare, New America Foundation, Physicians for a National Healthcare
Program, Universal Health Care Action Network and others have proposed
various solutions. These proposals all call for a complete overhaul of the
healthcare system and are available for reading on each organization’s
website. The US Congress needs to assume a proactive stance on this
problem. One approach would be to form a bi-partisan commission similar to
the 9-11 commission to study the healthcare issue, evaluate the various
reform proposals and enact reforms to re-structure the system.
This is a problem that needs a logical solution, not
a political one. Ask your family physician his or her views on the
subject; the answers may be surprising. Then pressure the President and
your Congressional Representatives to put political differences aside fix
a healthcare system that is totally out of control.
John R Kotson
2227 Sunstone Drive
Fort Collins, Co 80525
jrkotson@yahoo.com; 970-229-9352
[Editor's Note: See
New York Times article about same subject]
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