There have always been three priorities with healthcare: access, cost, and quality, and Congress is currently debating a bill that some hope will prevent the three from conflicting with each other. You’re probably wondering what is so wrong with our current healthcare system that the whole country is in an uproar to fix it. Though our system offers high quality care, it comes at a very high cost. When people are young, healthy, and employed, a private sector will provide their healthcare coverage, but as a person becomes chronically ill, elderly, or poor, Medicaid or Medicare will step in and pay the costs. About 54% of the nation’s healthcare spending is paid for by private insurance agencies and the individuals, while the other 46% is paid for by government programs. It is estimated that by the end of 2009, the United States will have spent 17% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product on healthcare. It’s projected that by 2025 this percentage will have increased to 25%. Even if you know nothing else about the shape that our country is in, you are aware that our government cannot possibly afford to continue spending increasingly more on healthcare. Another problem with our current plan is the many Americans that have no healthcare at all. According to research by the Wall Street Journal, about 46 million individuals are without healthcare coverage. The healthcare reform bill, H.R. 3200, would require all individuals to participate in a health insurance program. Any household with an income of up to 133% of the poverty level would be eligible for Medicaid, and households with incomes between 133% and 400% would be eligible for partial government assistance in paying their premiums. H.R. 3200 would allow anyone who currently has employer-provided healthcare plans to keep them, and anyone else would have the public-option plan. Like many ideas, this proposal looks good on paper, but would only work in a perfect world. Realistically, the US government can’t afford to adopt an expensive new healthcare plan with our rapidly growing debt of $11 trillion. This would force the government to back out on its existing commitments, like social security, simply because it couldn’t afford the high costs. A more practical solution to our health care crisis would be to make gradual changes in our system. For starters, congress should repeal the anti-trust exclusions that allow healthcare providers to set their own premiums, with no regulation from the government. Tort reform laws should also be passed to set limits on the amounts of money that can be awarded in lawsuits against healthcare providers for malpractice. Congress is scheduled to vote on H.R. 3200 on September 8, and according to Congressman Gene Taylor, the bill won’t pass unless some major changes are made.
