Health Care Myths

 

Health care is infected with myths that must be dispelled.      

MYTH: WE HAVE THE WORLD’S BEST HEALTH CARE. Our overall ranking is 38^th, between Costa Rica and Slovenia: far below France and Japan.

MYTH: WE HAVE FREE MARKET HEALTH CARE. Health insurers hold patients and providers hostage. Competition between them for market share is not free enterprise health care.

MYTH: INSURANCES CONTROL COSTS. One-third of health care costs come from insurance profits and overhead. Every dollar they pay in benefits reduces their profits.   

MYTH: AVOID FURTHER GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE. Our health-care is uneven in quality, service and outcomes: at exorbitant cost.  Congress should name a non-partisan commission to develop an independent, apolitical free enterprise system for managing health along the lines of the Federal Reserve System that successfully transformed and stabilized chaotic financial markets a century ago.

Jim Waun

Dec 2007

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[bob deehan]

Jim Waun apparently refers to the discredited WHO (World Health Organization) rankings. WHO, a corrupt U.N. organ, heavily skews its rankings of countries on the basis of whether or not that country has government-run health systems, i.e. socialist=good, free-enterprise or mixed systems=bad. About 2/7 of their rating is based on universal (read taxpayer paid) health services being a positive, whereas countries without taxpayer supported systems are penalized for not having such. Why is that even a consideration? There is no corelation to the actual quality of care whatsoever, which should be the primary comparative factor. Additionally, Waun claims 1/3rd of health care costs come from insurance profits and overhead without offering any supporting statistical evidence to support his statement. If such a claim were true, is Waun asserting that a government-run system would cost less? If so, can he name one other government-run system worldwide that cost less, considering the taxes to operate it and the outcomes after that governments' health rationing system is factored in?

[Dave]

Bob, Amen he also must have a mental block that he believes that congress and other government agency's which can not manage the programs we have now ie Medicare, Social Security, and the Welfare Program. As well as the fact that in France Socializism is on the way out because it just doesn't work due to greed in leadership.

[jim waun]

I do not advocate a government-run health care system, and I tried to make that clear in the last paragraph of my blog. From over 50 years of working in health care, I know very well the disastrous results from commercial (primarily) and government mismanagement of health-related matters.

I advocate a completely free enterprise health-care system, with competition based on quality, outcomes and consumer satisfaction. In order to be as free as reasonably possible, free enterprise health-care must be monitored and regulated by an independent, apolitical body of health care professionals, like the Federal Reserve economics professionals (imperfectly but independently) regulates free-enterprise banking entities.

I say free health care from domination by insurance and drug and medical device manufacturers so that health care professionals can do their jobs and be accountable to the American people.

Let's keep the conversation going.

Jim