If you have ever been ill enough to need major medical care, you will understand the following statistics. The Kaiser Family Foundation predicts, based on substantial evidence, that national spending on health care will increase by 10% every year for the next nine years, much as it has over the past nine years. Prescription drugs constitute 11% of all health care spending and are increasing at twice the rate of inflation. Physician, clinic, and hospital services are also rising at higher than inflationary rates.
Insurance covers less as prices exceed our ability to afford coverage. In some states up to 27% of the population is uninsured; researchers estimate this decreases life expectancy by 5-15%. Medicare, provider of health insurance to 17% of those who do have coverage, covers less than half the insured’s total medical expenses. This meager help constitutes 12% of the federal budget, a yearly target for congressional budget cuts. Medicaid enrollment for the uninsured has risen by 5% per year over the past seven years, another government funded program.
What it all boils down to is this, medical costs and prescription drugs in particular are out of control. What is our government doing to help?
The federal government restricts importation of prescription drugs from foreign countries where they average 30-80% cheaper. The US Food and Drug Administration claims it cannot guarantee the safety of imported goods. Then why are we allowed to eat imported food? They warn of scams. What about the millions of scams initialized right here in the US? The key is to know your supplier, their reputation, and their business policy; deal just as you would with any other international corporation. Grant the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to negotiate better prices.
The US Department of Health and Human Services adopts an admirable policy of research and support, which leaves hospitals and clinics open to the baser elements of the free enterprise system. The HHS Office of Inspector General protects us from malpractice abuse, but not when it comes to exorbitant fees.
The crux of the matter is 79% of the US population feel they can no longer afford adequate health care. Universal health insurance like Canada’s, leave millions waiting without service. States do not have the resources necessary to deal with this matter on their own. This is a national emergency, one that should be addressed immediately, especially now when so many unfortunate individuals have been displaced by hurricane, flood, and other natural disasters. I challenge this blog to brainstorm fiscally sound, humanely empathetic, and executable solutions to this problem, solutions we can send to our congressional representatives.