Democrats ignoring GOP's calls for reform
If David Keyes’ reporting (January 30) of Walt Minnick’s points is accurate, Minnick can be held accountable by replacing him in November. My point relates to the extremely misleading presentation of several points, at least in the reporting.
The U.S., indeed, spends more than other industrialized countries on healthcare, but it is based on a number of facts, including the following: First, notwithstanding some acknowledged problems, we have the best care, medical and pharmaceutical technology in the world, proven, I believe, by visitation from all over the world for the best care and treatment available; and the importation of our medications and equipment to countries all over the world.
Secondly, we waste tens of billions annually in defensive medicine as doctors and hospitals burn through all sorts of tests, procedures and medicines to minimize their risk of lawsuits. Thirdly, and directly related, huge premiums for malpractice insurance to cover such litigation and payouts having nothing to do with malpractice, drastically raise our gross cost of delivery of healthcare with not even marginal benefit to patients. The sum of these items of can drastically reduced by tort reform, but Democrats won’t touch that Golden Goose.
Thirdly, the employer-insured patients have no ‘skin in the game,’ as the insurers, including the government, which means all the taxpayers, are paying the vast proportion of every visit, procedure and medicine we ‘consume,’ which translates into over consumption as the ‘care’ seems ‘free.’ Employers deduct the full amount of the insurance they provide. Individuals do not get the same benefit if they are providing the insurance.
The next bullet point, ostensibly presented by our Congressman, relates to his assertion of the US mediocre position for life expectancy and birthrate. Take out our near-world leading murder rate, our near world-leading auto fatalities, both of which skew the age of death downward and neither of which has anything to do with healthcare or health insurance, and our position in life expectancy soars. I will not hazard commenting on birthrate stats.
Unfortunately, I missed the town hall meeting and equally unfortunately, the Congressman’s Web site contains virtually no specificity on his positions on the healthcare/insurance, whether clarity on the points above, or other cost saving measures such as enabling nationwide purchase of insurance, methods to increase the availability of insurance coverage and methods to end insurers’ practices which terminate coverage or reject applicants, without bankrupting the insurance companies.
I hope that the President’s words this week on bipartisanship have meaning and they translate into influencing his party’s leadership, which has been deaf to the minority party’s suggestion for reform, a word that is a total misnomer for the current House and Senate bills.
JOHN CORN
Sandpoint