Sick & Tired?
(How About An Alternative Health Care Prescription?)
Sections within this article:
2. Will The Doctors Take Their Own Medicine?
3. Take This Advice, and Call Your Legislator in the Morning
4. Better Health Through Exercising (Our Rights!)
[Had enough? Use our SPEAK! function to spread the word and tell others how you feel. Nothing will change until we all SPEAK out… So make your voice heard today!]
The observant citizen can spot a recurrent theme in western politics and economics over the past 50 years: Large-scale propaganda has often obscured the truth of even the most common social events, generally leading the public to passive acceptance of mass injustice. The so-called “Health Care Industry” provides no exception, and in fact is a perfect case in point. While pretending to rely on “the free markets” to provide medical care for our society, the industry instead relies on an array of anti-competitive laws, massive taxpayer subsidies, and discriminatory practices to mask incredible waste, inefficiency, corruption and greed. Of course, like many patients, upon learning that our system is diseased we must pass through denial before we will become angry. Hopefully we will live to find acceptance and then vow to make the changes necessary to ensure our long term survival. Here is the prognosis: Given the current monthly premiums and actual rate increases for the largest health insurance firms over the past decade, in 20 years the typical 60 year old’s insurance premium will be 16 times what it is today for a 60 year old… that will be an astounding $4,100 per person per month! Do the math yourself and you will begin to understand the size of the problem. Then plug this number into your retirement budget (but be sure to keep your medications handy)! Since the median age of the U.S. is increasing (due to the aging of the baby boomers), with life potentials of 80, 90, even 100, real trouble is brewing. (EDITOR’S WARNING: This article contains graphic illustrations of parasites feeding upon our system and is not recommended for young children.)
Your Money or Your Life?
One popular view regarding the Health Care Industry is that it is a ‘free market’ which should be treated like any other ‘free market’. Of course, such a claim should be able to withstand reasonable scrutiny, but in cases of life and death such arguments are more slippery than a snake oil salesman.
For instance, in a ‘free market’ the buyer will obtain prices from a number of qualified bidders, and then carefully select the best service and price combination from the pool of eager sellers. Let’s see if this applies to Health Care.
Imagine that you (or your spouse) has a heart attack, or severs a limb at work, or is involved in a serious car accident. Under these circumstances, being a faithful believer in the infallibility of capitalism’s ‘free markets’, what would you do? Dutifully retrieve the Yellow Pages ™ and obtain quotes from several hospitals which have especially nice- or professional-looking advertisements? Do the same with the ambulance services? Would you negotiate pricing, or simply go with the lowest cost quote for the specific service package you desired? Since this is an emergency we will assume that you will skip questions regarding billing practices, malpractice claims, references, etc., so you should be able to execute a contract for these $2,000 – $100,000 (or more) in services within a day or two — after your accountant and attorney review the formal documents, of course! And if a recommended treatment seems too pricey, well, you can always do the work yourself with the help of a few buddies, right?
Okay, let’s be serious! You will call 911. You will accept help from the first medical technician who arrives, probably a fireman or paramedic* serving local taxpayers in a VERY socialist manner (just like the police… damn socialists, they’re everywhere)! On the ride to the hospital an array of treatments are administered with NO direct approval by key family members, muchless discussion of costs, likelihood of success, etc., for any of these courses of action. You have delegated your authority to other members of society, trusting that they have the patient’s best interests at heart. But wait: These are simply other faithful capitalists acting in their own self-interest to maximize their wealth regardless of the tragic fate of the commons! Well, it’s too late: The wheels are in motion, you are completely out of the control loop, and only time will tell how much is billed to your insurance company and how much gets billed to you. How much is charged is strictly a matter of how much each “service provder” feels they can get away with; there is literally nothing competitive about it. Of course, other than the “Remittance Amount”, you rarely glance at the bill, and you never actually question any charge thereon (after all, it is written in some combination of Latin, Greek and Acronym). If you dare to ask anything, you are chastised in condescending tones and then directed to phone other bureaucracies, ‘the answer is not available here’. Even your lawyer advised that you can not fight the system, unless you are willing to fake pain and suffering worthy of TV-news headlines. Is does not matter whether your service providers succeeded, failed or made things worse, their contract is binding upon your estate and their accounts receivable department will be contacting you. Even more horrifying: The possibility of cancellation of your helath care policy, thus forcing you to join the 30% of U.S. citizens who can not qualify for or afford health insurance.
Faced with such a ‘market’ environment, it is tough to fulfill your dutiful role as an informed buyer acting with the reasonable market knowledge required under capital theory, so you do what any sick patient (or indoctrinated citizen) does: You roll over, do what you are told, try to ignore the pain, and hope they leave you with a little dignity. “Mercy! Please, for my child’s sake, mercy, please!” So let’s be honest: When the life of someone you love is on the line there is NO price you will not agree to pay. When it’s your money or your life, the robber (barons) can take all they can carry.
(* Note: Some municipality have implemented additional “fee for service” charges for emergency response teams for which residents must pay an extra monthly “subscription fee”… non-subscribers incur hefty charges if services are actually requested.)
Will The Doctors Take Their Own Medicine?
The American Medical Association (AMA) is reportedly the wealthiest and most generous lobbying organization in the U.S., effectively controlling health care legislation at both state and federal levels. So, is the AMA fighting to ensure that the American public has access to ‘free market’ health care, like good followers of Adam Smith should? Of course not. Because the golden rule of self-interested wealth-maximization is to get whatever you can for yourself and the other guys’ problems are no concern of yours.
Therefore, the AMA has worked tirelessly to ensure that only a limited number of medical students matriculate each year, artificially limiting the number of doctors practicing throughout the U.S. This in turn ensures a well-controlled shortage of doctors and thus effectively little or no competition. If we had as many doctors as we have engineers or lawyers then the average doctor would make what those professionals make (about $75,000 per year on average rather than an average of $165,000 for M.D.’s). The AMA argues that Americans recieve great health care because our doctors are trained in such limited numbers. Well, if the U.S. can not train competent professionals in large numbers then the law, accountancy, nuclear engineering, and weapons programs are all suspect! The truth is that the AMA wants no part of ‘free markets’. Like most other Sunday-school capitalists, they may speak the holy word but their actions betray them: They consistently lobby for legislation which guarantees a captive market: minimum competition, maximum barriers to entry, artificially high prices. Make costs public, make profits private.
Not convinced? Did you know that the number of hospital beds is artifically regulated, too! That is not a ‘free market’. Of course, health insurance companies are regulated, too! That is not a ‘free market’. (But you should not be surprised to learn that Health Insurance regulations are written by Health Insurance company lobbyists, which isn’t really representative democracy, either.) Let’s see… there are regulations which force consumers to use the services of doctors, preventing adults from obtaining their own medicines, for instance. And the pharmaceutical companies are allowed to use billions of dollars of publicly-funded medical research without paying any royalties to the treasury for license of the underlying intellectual property. Those are not examples of a ‘free market’ either.
Gosh, now that we look at it, where ARE the ‘free market’ principles applied within the U.S. Health Care industry today? As far as we can tell, the ‘free market’ is limited to the ensuring the freedom for doctors, hospitals, medical supply and technology firms, pharmaceutical companies, and related service providers to charge whatever they can get the health insurance firms to agree to pass along to YOU, the rate-payer. The “consumer” is conspicuously absent from the equation beyond the assigned role of “grateful and terrified”.
Of course, professional courtesy requires that Health Industry officials and Legislators alike are insulated from the consequences of their actions. Each will always have both the income and the health coverage necessary to maximize their lives as well as their profits. “Caveat emptor.”
Take This Advice, and Call Your Legislator in the Morning
So, how can we build a better Health Care system without more of that commie nonsense?
Let’s think in terms of “Liberty & Responsibility”. We want the freedom to choose our own doctors and our own medicines, and we should be willing to take responsibility for the choices we make. So let’s de-limit the training of doctors. It’s in the public’s best interest to train as many doctors as we can, as fast as we can… increase supply, drive down costs. In addition, get rid of the medical monopoly on prescritpion drugs… let us adults hire doctors as consultants when we deem necessary, but if we know what we need (or want) then we should be free to procurred it at will. Of course, the insurance agency will probably refuse to pay for medication which is NOT prescribed, but the entire dynamic will change as many people take back the responsibility for their own health care decisions.
What’s that you say? We NEED regulations to protect society and individuals, even from themselves? Okay, then as long we agree that government regulation is needed, it should be acceptable to reign in this out of control industry which has become so inefficient that it has consistently raised prices (costs) 4 – 5 times as fast as the official inflation rate over the past decade! An educated and civil society recognizes that medical care is as much a public function as police, fire and paramedic services. Sure, wealthy folks can still have their own private body guards, and even on-site fire and medical personnel, but for most of us it makes more sense to pay a basic tax and then count on receiving whatever services we need, when we need them, without additional cost (and especially without a cost that bankrupts us and our families).
To simultaneously argue against creating true ‘free markets’ AND against public control of the Health Care Industry is to illogically repeat the indoctrination of the marketers and lobbyists. Such is the vulgar logic of hypocrisy and rationalization. The salesmen, of course, demand that they can fairly play both sides of the argument at the same time, but in our hearts we know better. And if we know what is good for us (and our families), we had better stay focused on the math of escalating health care costs within our current ‘free market’ system — THEN DEMAND CHANGE! Major systematic change: Nothing less than full cradle-to-grave care for every citizen and resident-alien employee, all within the basic tax structure of our Country and States. NOTHING LESS IS ACCEPTABLE, or we dare not call ourselves “civilized”.
Making such a goal happen will obviously require an overhaul of the related corruptions. For instance, private corporations must be required to pay (into the health care fund) for licenses on ALL new intellectual property derived from publicly-funded research — in direct proportion to the gross revenue derived from those products (a standard “compulsory license” similar to those related to musical copyrights might work). No one should be able to claim patent rights for any form of DNA, any life form (whether or not previously existing), or any compound which is produced within nature (unless their last name is spelled “GOD”). Profits (including executive compensation) on any medicines or technologies which are deemed “life saving” shall be limited to twice the rate paid on government-insured treasury bonds, and the government shall continue to guarantee loans and otherwise subsidize the funding of research it deems to be “in the public interest” (as it does now). No one shall be considered uninsurable, nor shall any risks be excludable for any reason, including medical history, DNA sequencing analysis, and/or pre-existing genetic risk factors. Private insurers can, of course, continue to underwrite private policies as they and their clients might desire, but everyone must pay into the general tax system and everyone shall receive the best care that modern medicine can provide. If the ‘free markets’ are unable or unwilling to provide services under these conditions, then the taxpayers will simply do it for themselves (just as we do with police, fire and paramedics now). This is not to imply that a fair profit or just rewards should not be paid to hardworking, innovative, and creative professionals who help keep us going strong, only to clearly comdemn excessive profits, compensations and wastes.
Better Health Through Exercising (Our Rights!)
Just as with your weight, exercise, and cholesterol: Now that you are informed of the risk, the best course of action is ACTION. Think about the future. Talk to family, friends and neighbors to reach a consensus. Then contact your state and federal legislators and DEMAND FULL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR ALL AMERICANS — NOW! You can procrastinate, of course, but that is simply the type of denial which will put your loved ones at risk.
There are two important messages:
1. We must end the greedy pricing practices which allow one segment of society to force all others to hand over any sum demanded, or risk losing their life: An unfair business practice if ever there was one. (There are many ways to accomplish this, so let the devil remain in the details for now.)
2. We must establish a system which provides full health care coverage for everyone legally living and working in the U.S., while funding these costs as part of our basic tax structure. We must view this as the price of living and profiting within a civilized, responsible and free society.
These are two simple messages which should be relatively easy to convey to others, even politicians. Of course, if you are not willing to vote against your local favorites regardless of their actions (or inactions) then it will not matter… our fate is sealed. Remember, the lobbyists exercise their rights daily, and with the fervor of one who is acting in their own self-interest and maximizing their own wealth regardless of what that means to you. That is just basic capitalism at work, not to mention human nature.
So don’t you agree that it is high-time we started acting in our OWN best interest?
Summary & Conclusions:
In spite of the ‘free market’ rhetoric, health care is NOT (and never will be) properly served by private interests. It is not possible to have a level playing field when you are negotiating for your life. But the philosophy of Liberty & Responsibility can be employed to design a new system which provides full coverage for everyone, while ensuring that professional care providers and innovative technology firms are rewarded for their hard work, creativity and (especially) effectiveness.
If you are worried sick about how you will afford to keep your family healthy, or if you are just sick and tired of seeing 35% of all your health care premiums wasted on marketing (as if ANYONE needs to be sold on the benefits of having health care coverage) then exercise your liberty by acting responsibly to “Change The System!”
Use our “SPEAK!” function to alert your peers as well as key representatives. Then, tell every one of your legislators to “get it done or GET OUT! And we mean NOW!”
Thank you for your attention, interest and concern.