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Cedar Valley Voices: Major problems with health care system as it is
by Dave Hunt · Op-Ed · January 13, 2010
As the debate on health care reform continues, it is important to understand the process that brought us to this point.
It is evident that there are major problems with our current system:
• The U.S. ranks 37th in quality of health care even though we pay nearly twice as much as the next highest county.
• Using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage has greatly expanded. Over 1,400 conditions have been identified to deny coverage.
• Insurance companies often drop policy holders who get sick with a practice called recission.
• 20 percent of doctor-recommended treatments have been denied.
• Small businesses often face huge premium increases or are dropped if one worker or family becomes ill.
• 47 million Americans have no health insurance. Another 25 million are significantly under-insured.
• 14,000 Americans lose their insurance daily. That is over five million per year.
• A recent study estimates well over 45,000 Americans die every year due to lack of health insurance.
While individual Americans are doing well, health insurance companies have never done better. Profits are up 430 percent in the past seven years. Premiums have risen at three times the cost of living. Payouts as a percentage of premiums continue to decline from a high of 95 percent in 1993 to 80 percent today.
Consider the fact that we are the only advanced country with a for-profit health care system. The greatest cost growth for insurance companies has been in overhead including lobbying and executive salaries.
Logic suggests that major changes are needed, but opponents of health care change prey on the fear that people have about change. There are also powerful forces that have an interest in maintaining the status quo.
Republicans have drawn a line in the sand, stating they will oppose any reform. Even our own Chuck Grassley joined in spreading fear with his parroting of talking points on death panels. Groups such as Freedom Works helped spread confusion through town hall disruptions last summer.
The vast majority of Americans want and need change. True change must have certain characteristics including:
1) Costs must be controlled. The best way to do this would be through competition created by a public option or access to Medicare.
2) End of abusive practices by insurance companies such as recission, and denial of claims
3) End the doughnut hole for Medicare drug plans. And allow drug re-importation.
4) Strengthen Medicare.
Finally, fixing our health care system could be one of the most important pieces of economic recovery. This would help level the playing field between American companies and foreign manufacturers.
Dave Hunt is a retired social studies teacher who lives in Tipton. He is a former Iowa teacher of the year who taught at North Cedar High School.
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