Affordable Care Act

As the Supreme Court of the Unites States of America finishes hearing the arguments on both sides of the healthcare debate today, I couldn't help but wonder how everything will turn out in a few days.

It is interesting to note that the decision seems to be a partisan one. The conservative justices are expected to vote against the measure requiring that every American purchase insurance and we anticipate that the liberal judges will vote to uphold the law. With the SCOTUS now being a more conservative bench, we can expect that the law will be overturned and that good healthcare will once again be reserved for the affluent, only.

What a shame.

It's nonsense, really. The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation in the world that does not ensure that all of her citizens have medical coverage. Nobody claims that the systems employed in other industrialized countries are perfect but bottom line, they take care of their population. Personally, I believe that healthcare should be a non-profit industry. There is something hugely repugnant about a doctor having to make a decision between the shareholder and the health of his/her patient because fundamentally, these two entities are on opposing sides.

With all of the chatter from the uninformed, inflammatory, wing nuts who employ fear tactics and beak on about the fucking constitution, it must be really hard for the average citizen to truly understand what is at stake. The Democrats, who crafted the current legislation, were pathetic, tragically so, in disseminating the information to the public. The truth is, without some measure of socialized medicine, the healthcare costs in the US will continue to rise without constraint. The insurance companies are in the game to MAKE MONEY and if you and your family look like you might actually have to USE the medical benefits for which you pay heaps on a monthly basis, you erode the profit of the insurance company and thus, at the next renewal, your rates will increase. Then, perhaps one year, you won't be able to afford insurance because, let's face it, you've got to eat and keep a roof over your head so when you've got that itchy, weird looking mole, you don't see a doctor. No, you stop scratching and forget about it because frankly, you can't afford to see a GP, let alone fund the cost of seeing a specialist like a dermatologist. You go on like this for months until one day, something is really, really wrong and all of your symptoms point to advanced stage melanoma.

Then, the fun really begins.

Then, you get admitted to hospital for surgery, chemo and radiation therapy to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars and if you are lucky enough to survive, you file for bankruptcy and allow your home to be foreclosed because you are drowning in medical bills. And, now that you've had cancer, you have a pre-existing condition and good luck getting affordable medical insurance.

Those unpaid medical bills become the burden of the insurance company, hospital, doctors and every ancillary business associated with the industry. They erode the profit and thus, to meet the demands of Wall Street, the cost of services must necessarily increase to cover the shortfall. The next time that you require substantial medical care, which everyone likely will at some point, what are the odds that you will be able to pay THOSE bills?

Imagine what the scenario might look like should universal healthcare be made available for basic services like immunizations, well woman, well man annual visits and their associated lab tests. How many diabetics would we catch before they crush the system? How many irregular moles could be zapped before they metastasize and become so much more expensive to treat? If you are fortunate enough to enjoy insurance through your employer, have a look at the medical plan offered by your company. Your annual check up is likely free or relatively inexpensive, right? Yes, that's because it is a statistics game. On the whole, PREVENTATIVE medicine saves money. The insurance companies are not dummies.

So, what is the problem with mandating that everyone has to purchase insurance? In most states, you have to purchase auto insurance or post a financial bond in lieu of insurance, if you want to drive. It's the same with the medical insurance mandate. Everyone has to have some minimum level which increases the revenue and spreads the costs. Seems like simple economics. It has already been demonstrated to work in Massachusetts. Either way, the average Joe will pay. The pool has to increase to aid in maintaining margins or Joe finds himself with higher premiums. Unpaid medical bills of the uninsured lead to higher premiums for everyone else. Sicker people, who don't see a doctor until the situation is dire, require more care at greater cost. Premiums increase.

While America won't even consider universal healthcare at this point, they should. Socialized medicine works. Take the shareholder out of the picture and everything changes. You ask any citizen of any Westernized country besides the US how they feel about co-insurance, co-pays, deductibles, pre-authorizations, etc and they won't have a clue what you're talking about. Ask them how they feel about their's country's medical care and their access to it and you would be hard pressed to find any one who would trade their medical system for the one we have in the US.

The country is desperate for health care reform and while the current law is not perfect, it is at the very least, a meaningful beginning that does not violate the constitution. I hope Justice Kennedy thinks so, too.