US Healthcare Reform vote results: A Healthy Outcome But Not A Healthy Majority
Posted: Sunday, November 08, 2009
by Ben Morrish
http://alltruism.blogspot.com
In yesterday's historic vote in the House Of Representatives backed a healthcare bill, moving the US one step closer to a reformed healthcare system. This is great news, and brings the US closer to a fairer, better regulated and more accessible healthcare system.
However, the vote was close....extremely close in fact. The bill needed 218 votes to get a majority.... it got 220.
This is a concern, as it means almost half of the Representatives think the current US healthcare system is better than the proposed reformed version.
Let's have a quick look at the current system:
Despite the vast amounts of money spent on healthcare in the US, its healthcare under-performs massively.... many countries that spend half the amount the US does have healthcare systems that significantly outperform that of the US.
The World Health Organization rated the US healthcare system 1st in expenditure, but only 37th in performance. This clearly indicates that right now, the US people - taxpayers and insurance payers - are getting ripped off.
A recent Harvard study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, indicated that approximately 44,800 people in the US die every year due to lack of health insurance cover. That's a LOT of people killed by the system's failure to ensure everyone is covered.
The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine points out that the US is the "only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure universal coverage". For a country that has long lead the world in so many areas, this is surely an embarassing state of affairs.
Let's think again about the 44,800 people who die EVERY year due to lack of health insurance cover. That's a lot of people. It's 10 times more deaths every year than there were during the entire course of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Republicans have a significantly higher proportion of people who claim to be "pro Life", yet just one Republican representative voted in favour of the reforms that could save a lot of these 44,800 lives every year.
One Republican representative, Candice Miller, said "We are going to have a complete government takeover of our healthcare system faster than you can say 'this is making me sick'".
This statement, in my opinion, encapsulates a lot of the irrationality shown by many opponents of healthcare reform (as does the now legendary quote about Stephen Hawking and the NHS).
Government takeover of the healthcare system is presented as a bad thing. But think about it.... if it isn't controlled by the government, it is controlled by non-elected private (self) interests... by companies whose first goal is to make money.
Non-profit companies are widespread in terms of hospitals, but not in the health insurance market. Small wonder that Americans are currently paying over the odds for a sup-par healthcare system!
The government is elected by the people, so why on Earth shouldn't the people, through their elected government, have control of their healthcare system?
How is leaving that control largely in the hands of private, profit-driven companies preferable?
I'm very glad the House of Representatives backed the bill. The proposed reforms may not be perfect, but they can't be much further away from perfect than the current system, which is frankly terrible - supremely expensive but massively underperforming.
The proposed changes would bring the US system a step closer to the systems in countries who spend less on healthcare but get better performance and have much wider access to healthcare.
More "socialised" healthcare systems work, and work better and more efficiently than the current mess of conflicting private interests in the US system (there's evidence from numerous countries demonstrating this), yet "socialised" is a dirty word to many in the US.
For the sake of the American people, I hope the healthcare reforms get through the Senate and can start making a difference and saving lives as soon as possible.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Great article and conclusion. Of course our health insurance set up is the worst in the world, other countries can't believe it! It only lines the pockets of a few.
I received a letter from Humana saying that my rates are going up 25% next year. (Humana's profits in the third quarter were + 65%).
Never fear, eventually it will be complete socialized medicine. There is no other choice other than only the wealthy having insurance and the rest of us going to the emergency room.
Probably the best thing that can happen is that the health care bill is defeated. Then people will really see the unbridled greed of unregulated insurance companies. Then we will have our single payer system, which is the only thing that will work for the common people. Given time, enough people, wealthy and middle class will have a taste of cold blooded insurance companies. It only takes one experience.
Best ..............e PS. You have received 832 hits and only one comment. Hmm. Where are people's heads? You gotta wonder.Thanks for reading!I struggle to understand how *loosening* regulation on insurance companies is still an idea many people are in favour of implementing.... looking after the insurance companies' interests should not be the first priority - looking after the American people should be!
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