Tuesday, 07 July 2009

• Currently The All-American Rejects By The All-American Rejects see related

  Healthcare, the US and the options

  
  Having lived, observed and used three healthcare systems now, I have come across several alternatives and it's interesting observing the US federal debate, that is attempting to reform a system that is quite frankly, bloated, expensive, insufficient and a drain on all US resources.
  
  This post is in part inspired by this article from the BBC: "The McAllen Problem"
  
  The main point that I got out of the article is that That cost-of-care does not necessarily mean, or result in better care.
              This is something that critics of the proposed Obama plan need to consider. Especially in the comparison of McAllen and El Paso, geographically close, it is worthy of noticing. If a government-subsided plan can compete with a privately-owned plan in terms of care but at a much lower price, it can only be of benefit to everyone involved and could go some way towards reducing the exorbitant cost of medical care. Is this socialized medicine, such a hot topic currently that many people automatically shy away? There are some, like ProfessorTom who may agree, and post blogs such as this with quotes from individuals who have experienced a "socialist" system of healthcare. However, that individual was commenting on the healthcare system in Russia, a country that has only just started to rollback the massive spending on their military and are directing it towards other, more important needs of their population such as education, transportation, and yes, healthcare.
  A much better comparison of potential models that the US could look towards would be those in the UK - the first country to have a nationalised system of healthcare - or even that of Australia, which as one of the best partnerships between private and public healthcare and countries in which everyone has access to at the very least a basic level of healthcare. This is a much better system then is currently offered in the US for the majority of Americans.
          Screaming "SOCALIST" at any and every attempt at reforming a system that is quite blatantly in need of some reform is at best counter-productive, at worst a death sentence for the millions of Americans who do not have access to the level of healthcare that they need.
       The time has come to stop associating the word "socalist" with "communist" with "terribly bad and something to be avoided at all costs". It's incredibly short-sighted, misguided and a blinkered view of watching the world. It does not mean that captalism is going to fall, or even that it's going to be shunted to the side. There is still room for capatlism to flourish, as can be seen particularly in Australia, and it creates a much greater equitable situation for a broader majority of the population. Surely that, rather than the race to make as much money as possible, is a far more noble goal when we are discussing healthcare?
  
  So what, then, would I suggest would be a good start at reforming/overhauling/tweaking the current system?
  
  Firstly, the goal has to be to make a reasonable level of healthcare available to as many legal residents of the US as possible. With the vested interests in the healthcare system - providers, doctors, insurance companies, drug companies, employers and hospitals to name just a few - there is never going to be an easy answer, or solution but the goal must be first and foremost to create a healthcare plan that the majority of Americans can afford. Whether this should be government-backed or not is a moot point but I do believe that there should be a legislative-led charge to make healthcare affordable for all. This has so many benefits: less days will be lost at work, producitivity from those days will be increased, there'll be more money overall as more money will be poured into the system from those with insurance plans rather than the lucky few, standard of care will rise.
  Better regulation of teh dispensation of awards and benefits and the controls on prescriptions and method of billing will also help to keep costs low which will ensure that the best care, the most useful care will be dispensed. This will help avoid situations where patients who self-diagnose themselves (often wrongly) will "shop around" until they find a doctor who is willing to dispense the care the patient wants which will only hurt them in the long run and increase the strain on the system.
  This comes in part from creating a healthcare system in which it is run more like a business then a needed service. This trend must be reversed, and it will save so many lives in doing so.
  By removing the ease in which a profit can be made - not necessarily removing it completely - healthcare can return to it's needed roots: the diagnoses, treatement and rehabilitation of as many patients as possible.
  
  The healthcare system in the US, as it stands today, is a mockery of the American Dream and an oozing sore on the reputation of Uncle Sam. Look abroad, understand the motivations and ideologies of over healthcare systems and implement the recommendations into the US system then with the ingenuity of the American people and the resources that no other country can match and it will not take long before the American healthcare system in the envy of the world.
  
  

  • 4:50 PM
  • 29 Views
  • 0 eProps
  • 0 Comments