:$3ortla«i> (Observer
March 28. 2012
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T Twe ba § war DEMocRAey reform ' s § K o p
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W5>
Health Care Racket for the Cozy Few
Vast swaths of
people get
inadequate care
W illiam A . C ollins
In m o s t c o u n tr ie s ,
health care is aim ed at
curing the sick. H ere, not
so m uch.
In the U nited States,
health care is a profit cen
ter, one o f o u r nation's
fe w g ro w th in d u s trie s . Y o u n g
people are w isely counseled to pu r
sue health-related careers. As a ser
vice, it's harder to ship overseas.
But unlike other countries, w here
the patient is the focus, here the
corporate ow ners are. If you don't
believe me, please ask U nited H ealth
C E O Stephen H em sley. He pock
eted $ 102 m illion in total com pensa
tion in 2010, so he should know .
E ven local health care can be a
racket. N o, probably not your ow n
general p ractitioner w ho deals w ith
y our broken toe and that persistent
g o u t.
T he profiteers are the clever M D s
and hospitals w ho set up testing
clinics to X -ray and C T -scan us to
death, and to perform m arginal su r
by
gical procedures. T hat's w here the
m oney is. A nd since M edicare and
H M O s seem w illing to pay fo r ju st
about anything, en trep ren eu rs will
test and operate for ju s t about any
thing. It's no skin o ff your doctor's
nose. If you're lucky enough
to be insured, he know s you
w on't have to pay for it y o u r
s e lf— insurers will.
T he m ajo r do w n sid e o f
this greed -b ased system is
that health insurance is now
so co stly that too m any o f us
the population to inadequate care.
T here m ay be som e other m odem
country that also allow s this, but
none springs to m ind.
W hat do o ur legions o f truly self
less health professionals do to co m
pensate? T hey volunteer at clinics.
Som e serve schools, others veter
ans, still others poor neighborhoods.
A nd w hen that's not enough, unin
sured folks flock to the steadily d i
m inishing num ber o f hospital em er
gency room s. By law, these have to
provide them w ith care, the w orld’s
t What do our legions o f truly selfless
health professionals do to
compensate? They volunteer at clinics.
Some serve schools, others veterans,
still others poor neighborhoods.
can't afford it. T he ranks o f unin
sured A m ericans have sw ollen to 50
m illion. O n e m ight argue that any
system that leaves out 50 m illion o f
us isn't really a system at all. It's a
racket.
This racket provides cozy incom e
to the few at the top w hile abusing
the poorly paid health aides at the
bottom . It consigns vast sw aths o f
m ost expensive. It's a health system
only W all Street could love.
A nd W all Street does love it. But
for them it could be even better. If we
could ju s t get rid o f M edicare, which
is essentially w hat m any R epubli
cans are calling for, all seniors would
be forced into the ju ic y private in
surance m arket. A nd if w e could ju st
tw eak the patent law s, folks w ould
have to pay full price for L ipitor
forever.
O u r sy stem m ak es fo re ig n e rs
scratch th e ir h ead s. H ow can a
g re a t n a tio n lik e o u rs le av e o n e in
six A m e ric an s w ith o u t c o v erag e
a n d m i l l i o n s m o r e f o r g o in g
d o c to r's a p p o in tm e n ts, m ed ical
p ro c e d u res, an d p re sc rib e d m e d i
c in e to av o id c o stly d e d u c tib le s
an d c o -p a y s?
W hy d o esn 't th e g o v e rn m e n t
operate, or at least m anage, health
insurance itself? H ow can co m p a
nies get perm ission to m ake their
m edications so expensive for so
long? W hy is poverty allow ed to be
so ram pant, thereby m aking health
conditions w orse?
W ell brethren, you're now d rift
ing into the realm o f m arket cap ital
ism , w hich has m ade this country so
great. Every m an for him self! S u r
vival o f the fittest! D * evil take the
hindm ost!
U nfortunately w e've been keep
ing the D evil quite busy lately c o l
lecting m any souls w hose untreated
afflictions w eren't covered by in
surance.
OtherWords columnist William
A. Collins is a form er state repre
sentative, and a form er mayor o f
Norwalk, Conn.
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