Health Care in America
• Maintaining Medicaid, Medicare for our poor and elderly and improve care for our Veterans
• Prevent providers from excluding those with pre-existing conditions
• Allow safe pharmaceuticals from imported sources
• Provide health insurance in case of job loss through a government subsidy
Despite the fear mongering of Republicans in Washington we may finally be close to addressing the ever increasing divide between those with affordable health care and those less fortunate.
Very few issues in America are more important to our families than the rising costs of healthcare and the complexities associated with quality medical care. We have some of the finest facilities and medical providers in the world right here in Texas. Unfortunately, too many people are being forced to make decisions about their healthcare that they shouldn’t have to make. Sadly, many people have no choice at all.
Rapidly rising premiums have put a pinch on employees while employers are also increasingly facing difficulty meeting those same rising costs. In an ever increasing bureaucratic system, fewer and fewer choices are available to consumers. The federal government continues to wrestle with ways to address both the uninsured and underinsured of America. It is courageous on behalf of the Democratic leadership to tackle the real issues Americans are increasingly facing.
We must find a way to see that all people have a measure of security when it comes to their health without putting them in a state of debt that they could never get out from under in cases of long term or serious illness. I believe we have a moral responsibility to ensure that Americans are not faced with bankruptcy due to these devastating medical circumstances. 700,000 Americans each year are forced to declare medical bankruptcy. I believe the government could and should set a lower ceiling for these catastrophic situations. It would also help small businesses afford health plans that would invariably become cheaper when not faced with massive payouts. This would serve the increasing group of baby boomers who will be living longer lives without fear of total economic devastation. Rather than paying up front costs, the government would only have to be involved in these catastrophic cases.
Congress has passed measures over the last few months to prevent insurance companies from excluding people for pre-existing conditions. One such measure prevents these companies from discriminating against women who have had breast cancer. As has become a consistent pattern, Ron Paul voted against these measures and sided with the insurance companies. Forcing doctors to forgo their Hippocratic Oath for the benefit of the insurance industry is unconscionable.
I support the Medicaid Prescription Drug plan but feel as though it doesn’t go far enough to face the ever increasing costs of prescription drugs. I’m not suggesting more government spending, just the opposite, in fact. In a global free market system, people must be given the opportunity to choose where and from whom they buy their medicine. The FDA currently has too much power in the determination of what type of medicines is available, where the drugs come from, and their biases against holistic alternatives. As a result of the incredible bureaucracy, before a new medicine reaches the American public, it will take 10 years and cost pharmaceutical companies as much as $1 billion dollars. These delays are potentially medically costly while also financially costly as pharmaceutical companies must pass on these enormous costs to the consumer.
In the ever increasing global market Congress needs to take a long look at ways to reduce the bureaucracy it takes to bring safe medicines to the public. Reducing the time it takes to bring new safely tested drugs through the FDA procedures and made available to those that might need it is one such needed reform. Safely tested pharmaceuticals from Canada should in fact be made available to Americans in an open market system. The World Health Organization buys a large portion of the drugs they use for the developing world from Pune, India. Millions of people have been given drugs from Pune including vaccines, statin drugs, anti-biotics, anti-coagulants, and pain medications. As with many products such as these, they could be attained at a fraction of the cost of those currently available if they were allowed into the U.S. Drug quality assurance programs administered by the WHO have brought a safe supply of drugs that has nearly wiped out childhood diseases in developing parts of the world. Certainly these drug policies could provide both safe and cheaper drugs based on a global free market system here in the United States.
A major problem for millions of Americans especially in the economic downturn we face is a gap in their insurance coverage. Laid off workers can continue health insurance coverage through the Cobra program. However, this program is limited to a specified time period of usually 18 months and it becomes very expensive when the ex-worker must pay the entire premium for coverage previously shared with his employer. Many people unable to pay these higher premiums have led to tragic consequences. My younger brother lost his life to a heart attack at the age of 46 while in between jobs as he was unable to afford the needed diagnostic tests. He expressed concern that he may have had an issue yet was unable to order these expensive tests. Millions of Americans face a similar dilemma today. We are dealing with a dichotomy as Americans face unneeded serious risks to their health, in a country with the best possible medical care available in the world. This tragic gap in our system is one of the main reason why 22,000 Americans die every year from not receiving care they need.
The government must decide whether it is morally acceptable to allow Americans die in the most modern society on earth. I categorically say it is NOT. No person who loses their job should lose their health care.
To continue a free market approach to health care will require greater competition that provides the potential for containing runaway costs. Regional cooperatives will allow the opportunity for more companies to enter the market. Buying health insurance from a larger pool will inevitably lead to lower costs while still providing market value to health insurance companies within the region they operate. It may become necessary to look at price ceilings if reform is not passed.
We face a health care crisis in our country that must be dealt with without regard for the special interest groups be they insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, physician groups, or politicians. They are not fully to blame but have to take some of the responsibility for our current dilemma. Even those who believe in the free market system realize that the government can and must play a major role in health care reform. It is clearly time to question our own previously held beliefs, put aside philosophical political discourse, and do what is right.
