Summary
Fixing the health care system in America is like trying to fix the economy. We keep dumping more and more money into it, only to find ourselves going nowhere. There seems to be a renewed sense of hope with the emergence of a new administration in Washington, but there are no easy solutions. We are a country endeared to our ever increasingly expensive technology, which everyone wants, but only few can afford. We treat everyone who needs medical care, whether or not they can afford it, taking the position that hospitals and doctors will absorb the cost. Well, hospitals and yes doctors, are going out of business. Until the actual issues are looked at and tough decisions are made, we will find ourselves in a situation of a government run, nationalized health care system (ala Canada) which will set medicine in America back to the stone ages.
Analysis
Trying to fix the health care system in America is a monumental task. The bottom line is that we can no longer afford to care for our nation's people in the manor that they deserve to be cared for. Couple that with our obligation to provide health care for the indigent population and illegal immigrants free of charge, and you have an unbelievable burden on hospitals, physicians, and the entire health care system in the United States. Health care delivery is becoming more and more costly, especially as technological advances forge ahead. We invent bigger and better machines, MRIs, CT scans, robots and implantable devices which are so expensive, that it becomes cost prohibitive to utilize this technology. But hey, this is America, and we deserve the best, and we demand the best, whether we as a country can afford it or not. Our country's population is growing exponentially. People are living longer. In fact, many live well past 65 years old, which is the age at which Medicare kicks in. However, when Medicare was established, people were not supposed to live much past 65, let alone 80 or 90, so it made sense back then but it doesn’t any more. It is a broken system based on incorrect premises, and we can no longer keep it going the way it is. Our uninsured and underinsured population is growing rapidly. Physicians and hospitals are required to treat all comers, whether they can afford their medical care or not. This includes the Illegal immigrants who continue to pour into this country and increase the burden on our health care system. In the past, hospitals and physicians could absorb these extra costs, but they can no longer pass them on to those who can afford it or those who are insured. Hospital expenses, practice costs and malpractice insurance rates continue to climb, as reimbursement is at an all time low. Government aid for charity care continues to dwindle causing many hospitals to shut their doors, and causing physicians to go out of business. Things do not look good for us and they are only getting worse. Other countries such as Great Britain ration expensive health care services. That is not something that would be tolerated in America, nor is it an ethical solution. However, if we do not improve things fast, the entire system will collapse. The best and brightest students will no longer go into the medical profession, and our nation's sick will be treated by mediocre doctors. We will be forced into a government run, national health care system such as that seen in Canada, where people will wait 6 months or more for a necessary operation (if they can last that long). Certainly not something that would be tolerated in our great nation, not even from proponents of this type of system such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, or Senator Edward Kennedy who is a recent health care consumer. No, things from my perspective do not look good, and I am not as hopeful as others that the new administration will find acceptable solutions. Until then I will continue to care for patients in the best way that I know how to, and hope that we can find an answer to this very complex problem so that our children will continue to benefit from having the best health care system in the world.
