I recently had a short exchange on Facebook regarding Health Care Reform; a topic that should, in my opinion, be more accurately referred to as Health Insurance Reform. In the exchange, a couple of contributors asked specific questions and made comments to which I wanted to offer a response. In that Facebook isn't a particularly good venue for exchanges of this sort, I decided to offer my responses here--as dullwitted as they may be. All questions and comments from other persons are copy/pasted verbatim.

First, let me offer a foundation and basis for my comments.

The health insurance practices and markets in this country have a problem. Additionally, health care costs have increased at rates that are not comparable to the rates of inflation and income. I'm not going to bother with posting the statistics, charts, or surveys that support these comments. If you the reader are not aware of them, or find yourself unable to locate this information yourself, you probably shouldn't be engaging in the discussion.

Short version....something is rotten in the health care system of this country and it needs to be changed. How that change is accomplished will probably be up for debate for a long time. From my viewpoint there is zero debate about its necessity. When competent, efficient, and timely health care starts to become a privilege and not a basic human fulfillment, our entire society and culture suffers ill consequences.

One of the questions addressed to me I would like to respond to is;

"Thirdly if socialized medicine is so great why do people from countries that have socialized medicine come to the U.S. for healthcare."

Uh, well....the answer is, because they can get treatment for something that isn't immediately available in their own country. Does that really indicate something wrong with socialized medicine? Dig a little deeper and you might wonder if the question is as damning as it sounds, or is there something more that can be explored? Yup, there sure is.....

"The same Boeing 767 aircraft that bring people to America for treatment transport a growing number of residents, uninsured, underinsured and insured, from US communities to Istanbul, Dubai, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Krakow for treatment. That, according to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, will amount to about $68 billion departing the US for foreign healthcare providers in 2010." Source

Now that's kind of interesting. Why would people from the U.S. go to countries with socialized medicine for treatment? Might this handy graph shed some light on that question? If the graph is a bit hard to read, it's also located at the previously cited source. So large numbers of people from foreign countries come here for treatment, while a large number of Americans go abroad for treatment. How does that make an impact on the discussion? The answer is, it doesn't. It's one of those rhetorical questions that is clearly meant to distract from the issue. And while I'm on the subject; if a Canadian citizen has to come to the U.S. for some kind of treatment, the Canadian health system still pays for the treatment.

Here's what the table at the left is pointing out;

"One motive is to save money. America’s health inflation has consistently outpaced economic growth, making it the most expensive health market in the world. The average price at good facilities abroad for a range of common medical procedures is, by Deloitte’s reckoning, barely 15% of the price a patient would have to pay in the United States (see table)." Source

You may ask, "what are these two sources Dullwitted has offered trying to point out?"....this--Globalization demands competitiveness in every endeavor. The United States is not competing in the health care, or health coverage field.

Enough with that question; here's another.

"Also if this is so great why is congress exempt from it just like Social Securty "

So what? They're also exempt from the 2003 Medicare reforms. They also don't pay the same bulk mail rate others do. Their personal security is maintained at government (taxpayer) expense. There are a multitude of issues that separate "us" from "them." I can live with that. Especially since I can exempt myself from a public health care option if I so desire. Or, you can dig a little deeper and discover;

"Perhaps the most anticipated and speculated part of Obama's plan is the establishment of a National Health Insurance Exchange that will include both private and public affordable health plans emulated on benefits available to members of Congress. The public health plan included in the Exchange would be a first of it's kind for the country." Source (Italics added by author)

So how does the "exempt" thing sound now? Not so elitist anymore, is it? Onward and forward;

"Fourth do you realize that most countries who have soiclalized healthcare systems have had to start rationing healthcare so that when you get over a certain age you are denied treatment for many illinesses."

If you're not aware of the "rationing" that already exists in our current system, I beg you to get out and do some research. Placing dollar limits on particular coverages or treatments can only be described as "rationing." I can personally testify to the vile practice of a health insurance provider deciding when a person's treatment is to be ended, based not on what the health care provider says...but what the payer has decided. And here's the kicker....based on a cold, hard look at the macroeconomics of the issue, "rationing" is fine with me. This is not my emotions talking here; just raw facts. The aged population--those that are not working and not generating income and the resultant tax revenues--are not putting anything much back into the economy. In fact, their increased longevity can be seen as a burden on those of us who are still working, paying taxes, and contributing to the economy. I know what you're thinking, "that's cold," it is....and I would no doubt succumb to emotions and feelings if it was a decision about one of my loved ones. Onward and forward....

"So when we see how socialistic countries have failed, when we compare South Korea to North or East Germany to West why do we think that any move to more socialism is good?"

Because we don't know if socializing certain elements of our society will work unless the debate is undertaken with facts and not scare-monger tactics? The former East Germany and the current North Korea are examples of socialistic, totalitarian societies. Using those forms of governance in an attempt to create some correlations with the current issue is fallacious. The question does not address the issue and instead, attempts to deflect from the issue; health care and health insurance in the United States. Moving on....

"But our nation has the best health care in the world [...]"

Think so? Economists usually refer to infant mortality rates to judge that metric;

"The U.S. now ranks 29th in the world for infant mortality, compared to its previous ranking of 27th eight years ago, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Back in 1960, the country stood at No. 12 for those deaths." Source

You can't rank our health care as "best in world" while your infant mortality rate is moving away from improvement. Can't be done.

"All you need are basic math skills to see that we can't afford Universal Healthcare without massive cuts to other services."

I don't know if anyone has ever pointed this out before....but the money is already being paid. By us. In the form of health insurance premiums deducted from our paychecks. "Basic math skills" are great if I need to balance the checkbook. Unfortunately, those same skills won't be adequate for this issue. The issue is far more complex than 2 + 2 = 4. Sure, those that oppose any changes are happy to dumb down the issue by saying, "it will cost this much, our revenues are currently only this much, so therefore, it's stupid and impossible." But, what about the money not spent on a broken system? Do those funds simply evaporate, as if they never existed? No.....they are better spent elsewhere.

I'm probably not done with this issue....and I'll end this installment with this;

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School estimate the United States spends 44 percent more per capita than Switzerland, the country with the second highest expenditures, and 134 percent more than the median for member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These costs prompt fears that an increasing number of U.S. businesses will outsource jobs overseas or offshore business operations completely. U.S. economic woes have heightened the burden of healthcare costs both on individuals and businesses. The Obama administration's first budget includes billions to overhaul health care, and despite the economic downturn, experts see a consensus emerging that healthcare reform should move forward." Source

It's about the world, this country's place in it, and how our government fulfills its responsibilities.

"Half-truths feed on fear. People are afraid of losing or compromising what coverage they already have. They're afraid of higher taxes and lower quality of care. Who has the time or patience to read the 1,000-page bill proposed by the House of Representatives? So we rely on summaries and are susceptible to all sorts of misrepresentation. And nobody wants a plan with major faults rammed down their throat in the name of political expediency." Source

If this country adds health care to the industries that we have failed to globally compete in....we will have only ourselves to blame.

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Imagine the work that went into this....