McCain & Obama: The Politics of Health Care
[cross-posted at BlogHer Health and Wellness]
A new report is out about insurance and health care, and it’s not good. If you think the cost of health care is high now, just wait…It’s going to get even higher. Who would have thought that you could have insurance, and still not be able to afford healthcare? How is that possible? Only in America.
A few weeks ago I posted about the rising cost of prescription drugs, now it’s copays and premiums that will be increasing. Even people who have insurance and prescription drug plans, still can’t afford their medications. I thought insurance was suppose to “insure” we have quality and affordable health care? Not so much.
The United States spends more of its income on health care than any nation on earth, nearly $6,000 per person per year, more than 15 percent of our total income. In contrast, the countries of the European Monetary Union spend about $2,500 per person per year, less than 10 percent of their income.
The United States is very rich and we spend the most in the world on health care. We have a right to expect more for our money than a life expectancy outcome that places us thirtieth in the world, behind Singapore, Chile, and Costa Rica as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and every Western European nation.
Our health care system certainly delivers innovations in pharmaceutical and other technologies. It leads the world in Nobel Prizes for medicine and physiology. But it does not deliver medical care equitably to all Americans. Those who can pay have access to the best health care in the world. Those with good insurance plans—a decreasing fraction of the population—get good, life-extending health care. The rest must make do. And the result is that enough people fall through the cracks to place us at the bottom of the rich country life expectancy tables.
Here is some of what other women bloggers are saying about the rising cost of health care.
From Green LA Girl…
Our health care system’s so fucked up that people are getting married — and considering divorce! — simply due to health insurance issues. In the NY Times: “For today’s couples, “in sickness and in health” may seem less a lover’s troth than an actuarial contract. They marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for co-pays and deductibles.”
From MOMocrats…
- Under McCain’s Plan, Health Insurance Benefits Would be Taxed For The First Time, Resulting In A $3.6 Trillion Tax Increase On Working Families. McCain’s health care plan would eliminate the payroll deduction on health care benefits, which would have the effect of raising taxes on working families by $3.6 trillion. [New York Times, 5/1/08]
- The Health Care Tax Credit McCain Offers Would Cover Less Than Half The Cost Of An Average Health Care Plan. The McCain health plan would give families a $5,000 tax credit to purchase health insurance. However, in 2007, the average family health insurance plan cost $12,000 – more than double the value of McCain’s health care tax credit. [“Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; “‘Call To Action’ On Health Care Reform,” John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]
From Just Random’s presidential wish list…
Universal Health Care (or at least affordable health care) – Why is the United States the only modernized country with out some form of universal health care? I know an argument could be made for the U.S. having the best health care, but why can’t we have both, come on some one smarter than me make it happen. Every child in this country should have access to health care.
From Christian Liberal’s Weblog…
Whatever the case, it’s surprising that so many self-professed Christians, and especially the evangelical type, are so eager to maul, mangle and manipulate those words, those lessons, so that it comes out as “every man for himself”, which of course is the exact opposite of the meaning and spirit of those teachings.
They’ll use phrases like “self-determination” or “market forces”, but it’s really just code words for “you’re on your own” and “don’t expect any help from me.” Likewise, they will use negative words to describe the concept. It’s been found that a majority of Americans favors universal healthcare, but if you change the language to “socialized medicine” the approval rating drops below 50%. And the greed-oriented apologists are quite expert at word-smithing.
The point is, any good-hearted Christian would not begrudge the care given to a needy neighbor.
Are you having trouble affording health care? Are you hoping if Obama is elected, things might get a little better? Are you worried, that if McCain is elected, things will get worse? Let me know what you think in comments.
Comment from JCE
Time: September 7, 2008, 12:14 pm
I don’t know what to think, quite honestly! Health care is such an enormous issue that I just don’t think any one president will be able to completely overhaul it. It takes years to get any kind of reform through government and by the time it trickles down to the average citizen it is such a diluted mess as to be useless. I am lucky enough to have partially paid insurance through my employer, but every year the premiums go up along with co-pays and deductibles so, for me, it is fast becoming unaffordable since my income increases have not kept pace. I do think many people in this country reach for medication or seek medical help when it is not necessary and this is very bad - it encourages the drug companies to continue to produce an every increasing list of medications for phantom illnesses, allows the insurance companies to justify increases, and pretty much screws anyone when they actually do need medication or medical help. We also have a lawsuit happy country who are willing to sue doctors and hospitals for nearly anything these days - again, this drives up costs and makes it difficult for people in genuine need. When you add the greed of hospital administrators, doctors and drug company directions the whole systems just plain sucks.
I do not know what the answer is, but I do know that education on every level needs to be increased in this country if we are to survive. Somehow, some way, common sense must be taught and that is not happening. People need to be educated on understanding and taking responsibility for their own health as well as not allowing themselves to be bamboozled into convincing themselves they have a disease or disorder because a television commercial tells them they do.