- Home
- News Grid
- Local News
- Green Hawk
- Business
- Politics
- School Zone
- Nonprofits
- Missing Pets
- Multimedia
- Arts
- Movies
- Outdoors
- Sports
- News Releases
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Opinions
- Classifieds
- Advertise
- Donate
- Partners
Serendipity: Sustainable Health Care, Part I
“The greatest threat to our nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care. It’s not even close.” — President Barack Obama, March 2009
At last we’ve come to the issue that has been the blue whale in the bathtub for at least 15 years. To face it down, we need to be prepared to pull back from the politics — from the polemics of public or private insurance — to look at health care and health-care insurance from a broader perspective.
The intertwined issues of cost and access are admittedly complex. They can’t be resolved but only continually managed. The good news is, there are examples of model health-care systems in the United States that show us what is possible.
Insurance for health care is a relatively new idea. The first medical insurance was accident insurance, which developed in the mid-1800s to capitalize on a reasonable alignment of costs and benefits between the insured and the insurer. Accidents are a good match for insurance because they are:
» Economically significant — that is, so potentially costly that people are willing to share the financial burden.
» Beyond the control of the insured — making false claims or overuse unlikely.
» Affect few people at a time — unlike a catastrophe such as wildfire or earthquake that can bankrupt an insurer as well as an insured.
As the benefits of insurance became evident, the idea spread to other areas, despite the less-than-perfect match between insurer and insured. In the United States, commercial insurers began marketing hospital insurance in the 1930s and major medical insurance in the late ‘40s.
The overall wealth of U.S. society increased dramatically in the 20th century, and most came to agree that it was no longer acceptable to leave our sick and injured poor on the street. Yet, this now happens routinely.
As Jim Wallis, CEO of Sojourners — an NGO exploring faith, politics and culture — writes, “Seeing your child sick is a horrible feeling; seeing your child sick and not having the resources to do something about it is a societal sin.”
After watching news clips of cash-strapped hospitals abandoning homeless patients on skid row, it’s hard to argue against universal access to basic health care. But there are better ways to control costs than denying access to the needy.
According to Wallis, about 46 million people in our country are uninsured; many more are underinsured. Moreover, a majority of bankruptcies in 2009 will be because of medical bills, despite the fact that three-fourths of those filing for bankruptcy have health insurance.
One of the biggest differences in opinion between the insurance company view and a faith-based view is whether medicine is underutilized or overutilized. Insurance companies are scared to death of overuse. Judging from the cost alone you can’t blame them. Costs have escalated dramatically, and most new treatments increase rather than decrease cost, as happens with many other technologies.
One way to reduce cost is to improve access to nontraditional health care, which is typically less invasive and thus less costly. But even within Western medicine, there are American communities whose experiences can yield approaches to avoid and to follow.
We’ll explore these in the second installment on health care.
— Karen Telleen-Lawton’s column is a mélange of observations supporting sustainability. Graze her writing and excerpts from Canyon Voices: The Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon at www.CanyonVoices.com.
Comments
Noozhawk's comments are moderated, but by posting here you accept your responsibility to follow our rules as part of Noozhawk's shared online community. Please keep your comments civil and helpful. Don't attack other readers personally, and do not use vulgar, abusive or discriminatory language. Use the "Report Abuse" link if a comment violates these standards or our Terms of Use.
» on 08.31.09 @ 09:27 AM
Thanks for taking a broader perspective on the health care reform issue and for trying to calm the waters. Yesterday’s column by Paul Krugman in the NY Times talks about health care reform as proposed by Richard Nixon—worth taking a look at.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 08.31.09 @ 10:21 AM
“According to Wallis, about 46 million people in our country are uninsured; many more are underinsured.”
A figure which includes all illegal immigrants and those who simply don’t want to buy insurance. The overuse and false claims problem can be solved easily by requiring or increasing a co-payment, not by giving more healthcare away for free, that will only increase costs by way of taxation, instead of insurance premiums, simply shifting the cost to bureacrats instead of a competitive efficiently run private insurance company.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 08.31.09 @ 10:37 AM
If we are to provide healthcare to anyone that illegally crosses the borders, how long until the United Nations will implement a World tax to provide Global healthcare? I mean where is the limit? Why stop at illegals?
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 08.31.09 @ 01:04 PM
I’m with the last two commenters. I’d rather see illegals in Emergency rooms or hidden away sick in their own beds than give them access to the health care I’ve worked hard to pay for.
I feel this way because I don’t see someone’s health as a human right, rather a citizenship right.
I spent a lot of time and money becoming a citizen…well not actually, my parents did…well not actually, maybe their parents did…
I guess I didn’t exactly do anything to become a citizen, but I sure don’t want non-citizens using up my healthcare. I’m pretty healthy and I don’t use it, but there’s no way I want someone who needs healthcare to use it all up so that there is none left when I get a cold!!
Come on, people! If we could just get rid of illegals we wouldn’t have nearly as many problems healthcare or otherwise. If there were fewer illegals, I’d have more time to read up on the issues instead of just learning a few important facts about how illegals are ruining our country.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 09.01.09 @ 05:17 AM
To some of the comments, there is nothing in any of the proposed bills that allows for illegals to be provided healthcare. Unfortunately, today we are already paying for their care in the form of emergency room treatment.
We have an illegal employer problem in this country that needs to be strickly enforced. Many people who complain about illegals actually hire them in the form of gardeners, works, house cleaners etc. The enforcement needs to include clear communication as to what is the responsiblity of any employer combined with stiff penalties and possibly jail time.
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
» on 09.01.09 @ 11:46 AM
There is nothing in the current proposal that deals with illegal’s using emergency rooms as a doctor’s office. So the problem remains and it is a HUGE drain on the system. Funny how the new bill says nothing about tort reform either, yet right after illegal aliens bankrupting hospitals is excessive litigation. These two issues which the Obamacare bill does NOT address are the two biggest causes of cost escalation, insurance cancellations, excessive use of testing and a whole host of other cost add-ons. The bill does nothing to address these problems. The bill does not address how we are going to pay for more doctors hospitals, nurses, labs, technicians and other ancillary equipment to handle the increases in users. So, if demand goes up and the supply is fixed one of three things happens, costs go way up, thereby limiting demand, costs stay the same and supply is rationed or costs go up AND supply is rationed. Want to guess which is the more likely?
You don't have permission to flag this entry.
More Local News »
Karen Telleen-Lawton: A Day with a Chicken Farmer
From gleaning vegetables to butchering chickens, an unlikely birthday present proves to be a memorable adventure
Karen Telleen-Lawton: Environment Is Alive and (Pretty) Well in Santa Barbara
Environmental Defense Center's top 10 accomplishments in 2011 represent a breadth and depth expected from a larger organization
Karen Telleen-Lawton: Retirement Is for Baby Boomers, Part 2
A look at proposed changes to keep Social Security viable past 2037
Karen Telleen-Lawton: Backstage Bethlehem
Christianity’s 'living stones' can help ensure the early Christian culture survives
Karen Telleen-Lawton: California Murres Taking Flight Off San Miguel Island
After century hiatus, re-established colony takes up residence on islet of Prince Island
Weather: Fair 47.0º
Search Noozhawk »
