Fixing America: The Healthcare Crisis

Healthcare - now there's a hot topic! What is up with all of that anyway (besides the costs)?

And why do the costs increase at a much higher rate than inflation? There is no rhyme or reason. Except for greed. Greed on the part of the insurance companies. Greed on the part of the pharmaceutical companies. Greed on the part of the doctors. Greed on the patients who sue them (whether it is justified or not). Greed on the part of the lawyers who get in the middle. Even greed on the part of corporate America which seems to feel obligated to provide for their employees but are willing to skimp on what they can provide to those who really need it.

Considering that I am diabetic and that my wife has a plethora of medical problems (one of the least of which is her diabetes), we are pretty dependent on what happens with the healthcare industry. Because of the choices my employer offers, we've had insurance through three different providers in the last five years. Once again we have new insurance, and we are on pins and needles in regards to the ongoing treatment of my wife's pancreatitis. And our prescription drug service frankly sucks.

I have a friend who is going on 68 years of age. He is still working because he otherwise doesn't know how he can afford health benefits for himself and his wife.

My friend and I are certainly not poverty-stricken. But these healthcare costs are killing us financially, and many others. It is as if the industry is hemmoraging. And if we don't stop the bleeding soon, the whole system will melt down.

The pharmaceutical companies charge us consumers billions upon billions of dollars when they pimp their designer drugs on TV and in our magazines. Their pharmaceutical reps take my valuable time at the doctors while they pimp their wares and kickbacks on our doctors. And I swear they make up new diseases so they can treat them with new drugs they just created. They claim a lot of money goes to research. Well, if you spend billions on research, then I expect you to get it right. Look at Vioxx, one of numerous examples.

If I were in charge, I would see to it that the CEOs of these pharmaceutical companies get their butts hauled in front of a nationally televised Senate hearing and testify - under oath - to the American people as to why their drug prices are so ridiculously high, and explain why so many safety issues were not addressed. The FDA is probably in on approving unsafe drugs as well. While we're at it, we need to haul in folks from the FDA to explain that. Those responsible for rubber-stamping unsafe drugs into the market should be dealt with severely as if they commited a capital crime.

Then there's the emergency rooms. While many go there because they need to, there are too many others that go there when they have the sniffles or a scratchy throat or a hangnail. Sometimes they're there because their family doctor is simply too busy to see them. Fortunately my doctor doesn't do that.

Hospital care is another serious issue. We're simply not training enough nurses, and they're the ones who really make people better, not the doctors. Hospital doctors seem more concerned about, well, I'm not sure. And some of them are just egomaniacs. Many times when my wife was in the hospital, there would be considerable differences in opinion over her treatment amongst several doctors who would see her. Several times, a particular doctor who was passing through that day would try (sometimes successfully) to override the orders of the treating physician who actually knew the most about her! It's like a pissing contest between doctors to see who can out-diagnose the other! No wonder I get as grumpy as House!

Barack Obama thinks he can fix the healthcare system. I wish him luck - first on actually getting elected, then on actually fixing the system. With all the other ambitious projects he has planned (and I admire him for his ambition), I don't see where the money will come from. Maybe if he calls those special hearings like I mentioned, we might have a fighting chance.

Otherwise, I really do think we will see a complete meltdown of healthcare in this country, and it will happen fairly soon.