Sexy Lexy
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Wednesday, 11th of August 2010 03:29:46 PM
For-profit health care hurts those who need it most by Hugh Curran
Sexy Lexy
/>There is much debate about health care yet little consideration for the
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ethical implications, especially the appropriateness of profit motives in
Joined: Thursday, 20th of May 2010, 10:37:27
the health care industry.
Americans do not seek to make a
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profit from education (kindergarten to grade 12), fire or police
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departments, yet people seriously listen to “industry” lobbyists who
believe this to be a right in health care.
The philosopher
Martin Buber defined “evil” as resulting from “indecision.” Where
health care is involved there is a good deal of indecision, but this
indecision is largely the result of disinformation by those who profit
from health care.
If we begin with the understanding that the
health of the whole country contributes to the health of each of us, we
can ask if private interests, wishing to maximize profit, should be the
arbiters of the public good. They are investor-owned businesses that
design health care systems that benefit their investors. From recent polls
we know that two-thirds of the public would prefer a system with a public
option. More than 60 percent of physicians wish for such a system. Unlike
the propaganda of corporate representatives, a public option in health
care would provide free choice of physicians for the patient.
/>Lobbyists shamelessly portray the Canadian system in a negative light
although l have yet to meet a Canadian who would be willing to adopt the
American model. In fact, no country that has a public option would change
to the American model for the simple reason that they know that a health
care system based on profits would deny insurance to those who are most in
need.
According to the World Health Organization, the U.S.
ranks low in two of three main categories associated with health care:
preventive care and cost of care. It is true that in a couple of
categories the U.S. excels, such as surgery and medical technology, but
there are many other criteria for good health, especially in the area of
preventive medicine.
In France, whose general health care
system is highly regarded throughout the world, providers satisfy the
three categories: They provide easier access to medical facilities; life
spans are longer; there is lower child mortality, and there is guaranteed
health care from cradle to grave financed through tax revenues. The
government’s role is to make sure that the whole population has access
to care. It protects patients’ rights, helps to work out policy and is
the responsible party where health safety is concerned. Despite this, it
is not a single payer.
America now pays out 17 percent of its
gross national product on health while France, Canada and England pay less
than 10 percent. The trillion-dollar additional cost that has been under
discussion in Congress is based on a 10-year cycle that amounts to $200
billion per year. Compared to the trillion-dollar bailout of banking
interests on Wall Street and the trillion-dollar war in Iraq and the
continuing hemorrhaging of the auto industry, this is a reasonable amount.
The real reason there are such vehement arguments over public
options versus private plans does not involve which is superior but which
approach has the most to lose. Large corporations, whether HMOs or
pharmaceuticals, are intent on creating indecision and doubt in the minds
of many Americans concerning universal health care. Most medical
professionals, including the 3 million-member American Nursing Association
and the American Medical Association, have endorsed health care plans with
public options. But with all the lobbying taking place by corporate
interests there is a real danger that the public option will be removed.
This would be a major setback for both working and unemployed Americans.
At this moment 14,000 people per day are losing their health care because
of the current downturn in the economy.
Democracy cannot long
survive if the gaps between rich and poor continue to increase and
continue shifting us toward a small wealthy minority and a disappearing
middle class. Health care is the largest cause of bankruptcy among the
elderly. It bleeds and depletes the resources of families even when one
person suffers a serious accident or illness. Although we pay twice the
amount per capita as do other developed countries, the results are that we
are less healthy. Let us support a public option based on the common good.