SUCKERS "R" US

By

Tom Molloy

In my opinion, middle class Americans are being screwed by their government. Over the next few months, I intend to write a series of blogs concerning the “Screwing of America”. The focus of this blog is the lousy health care system we have, the reasons we have it, and what we can about it.

Our elected representatives are bought and paid for by those special interests that contribute to their campaigns. Although many middle class Americans are aware of the power of special interests, most have lapsed into a state of apathy. The attitude seems to be: “You can’t fight city hall”.
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I just read a synopsis of a three-year old World Health Organization report that evaluates the delivery of health care in participating countries. According to this report, France is the best in the world at delivering health care to its citizens and Italy is in second place. The UK is 18th and the United States is 37th. Yes, you read it right, 37th. This report presents an array of medical facts and figures. Some of these, such as infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and post-operative infection rates are easy for a layperson to understand. No country received a perfect score. WHO found deficiencies in every country’s delivery of health care, but when you compare the US delivery to the delivery of the top five countries, it is embarrassing.

We are the richest country in the world and we are rated 37th in the delivery of health care. Why aren’t we in first place? There are two serious impediments to our ability improve the delivery of health care. First, there is the insurance industry which makes billions in profits from providing health insurance. Second, there are the right wing ideologues who fanatically oppose any further government involvement in health care. The right wing disinformation campaign has led Americans to believe government involvement in health care leads tO failure.

The insurance industry pours money into congressional coffers to maintain the status quo. Mind you, this is perfectly legal. Corporations can legally contribute to political campaigns. I am told that there is a legal distinction between a campaign contribution and a bribe, but I have difficulty distinguishing between the two. It all boils down to:”You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. The middle class had better start scratching because the eight wingers are giving away the country to the super rich at bargain prices.

It is a national disgrace that 46 million Americans do not have health insurance and no one knows how many others have inadequate health insurance. I believe we are the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health insurance. Middle class Americans are increasingly finding themselves without health insurance and live in fear of the day illness strikes One of the leading causes of bankruptcy in our country is inability to pay medical bills

Whenever a representative proposes any government intervention to give all Americans access to quality health care, the right wing ideologues, willful or unwitting shills for the insurance industry, swing into action. The Fox News talking heads launch a disinformation barrage. They immediately hurl the ugliest words in their lexicon at the proponent. “Socialist” and “liberal”, they cry!” For right winger ideologues, this ends the argument.

But for those of us who are too obtuse to see the nexus between socialism and the proposal (That is to say, we know the definition of socialism), they whip out anecdotes. It seems that almost everyone at Fox News knows someone who has been subjected to horrendous treatment at some medical facility in Europe or Canada. The Fox News talking heads tell us how hordes of Canadians, distrusting their system, escape to seek treatment here. I have gone out of my way to ask Canadians how they like their health care system. They express satisfaction with it. Many Europeans and Canadians think we are barbarians because we don’t have universal health insurance.

The ideologues, somewhat disingenuously, aver that everyone in America has access to health care. They do and they don’t. When illness strikes, the uninsured frequently have to avail themselves of a hospital emergency room. Typically, unless it is a matter of imminent life or death, they leave the emergency room with the minimum treatment necessary so they can see their private physician. They might also leave with a diagnosis and a prescription. They definitely get a whopping bill. If they need surgery or prolonged treatment, they can try one of the hospitals or clinics that treat the indigent. Good luck with their open heart surgery.

Here is a true anecdote. I lived in Germany for three years. One morning I went to throw out the garbage. I got my foot got caught in a crevice in the thick ice on the road and fell with my ankle stuck in the crevice. It turned out I had to have surgery to repair the ankle and had to stay in the hospital for 8 days because my doctor was afraid blood clots could develop. From the ambulance ride to the hospital until day I left the hospital, I received outstanding care. I was in a two-person room that was comfortable and squeaky clean. The doctors, nurses and technicians were thoroughly professional and the food was remarkably good.


When I got the bill, I was astounded. The total was $2600 My US insurance covered the cost. They did ask for an itemized bilk and got a lecture from the German administrator about how wasteful itemization was. She said it was too expensive to itemize. She explained there were two basic charges; surgery and hospital stay. A day’s hospital say was a fixed price. There were three categories of surgery, each with a fixed price.
I am not an accountant, but it sounds as if great savings could be wrung from such a system.

One evening in Germany, my wife had a nose bleed which wouldn’t stop. We went to the local hospital emergency room and they stopped the bleeding, but the doctor suggested that my wife be transported to the big Munich Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital for tests. She spent about five days and the treatment was fantastic. The cause of the bleeding turned out to be nothing serious. The total bill was about $1200

But, we the right wing bombards us with negative comments about such health care systems. As for government involvement, in some European countries, the governments are the insurer and you can choose any doctor you want. In other countries, the government is the insurer and provider of health care. In these latter countries, generally choice of doctors is more limited.

Let’s look at the heath care delivery system from the perspective of the Europeans and Canadians. Why wouldn’t they jump at the chance to adopt our system that costs twice as much and excludes a large number of their citizens?

Wake up, America!