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Canada Health Insurance History

Solving the Health Care Dilemma

How many people do you know who think their Congress person the answers to the health care in America? Or their Senator? George W. Bush? Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? Or, for that matter, any politician? You really have the answers?

If they can not do it, then how about the politicians in Canada or Britain? Did they solve the problem in their societies? Some people believe they have. But in England, where the private medical practice, prohibited where socialized medicine was first established, there were, they were eventually forced to reverse its policy and allow the public outside the government's system of medical care given by private doctors to go.

In Canada today, the Story is much the same. Many Canadians come to the U.S. for emergent needs, such as bypass surgery, as the waiting time in Canada is endless, often many months before their citizens can obtain life-saving treatment when they need it.

State-Run Health Care

All public health systems have one thing in common: rationing. Not necessarily the use of ration cards, but rationing. Rationing of resources. The cause is a devilishly simple principle that in all nationalized health care programs. That is, it costs nothing, or so affordable that it costs almost nothing. Basic Economics clearly shows that when something is free, demand will quickly unlimited. The lower the price, the greater the demand. Put some away and sell "" everything you have and much more.

However, the flip side of unlimited demand is a shortage of supply. And not enough doctors, nurses, or expensive equipment, such as CAT scans and MRI, leads eventually to rationing. walking around without adequate health care, rationing becomes a necessity. This has with the faulty nationalized health care system in England, Canada, Germany, Japan, the former USSR, everywhere was attempted.

So, if there are no politicians who really know what should be done to solve our health care system, why do we keep it expects to be with the answers?

What exactly are the problems? Too many uninsured? Too high cost? Poor quality? Lack of availability? All of the above? Do you think or You know?

What the government (read politicians') solutions to date?

Health Care Policy

National health care (socialized medicine) in one form or another is the primary health care policy, adopted gradually in America. And it is slowly but surely get a reduction in the quality of the health care we. Talk to a doctor you trust and see if they do not agree. They will tell you that they work much longer hours for less money, that many doctors will retire early or move to the "concierge" practices, because they are fed with the government and the insurance company bureaucrats telling them to practice medicine. Consequently, there is a growing shortage of doctors and nurses.

But you can say we do not have socialized medicine in America! Perhaps not yet, but we have in this direction for some time moved, and we seem to continue on this path as the years go progress. It is a slippery slope. For example, consider Medicare.

But Medicare is not socialized medicine, you can insist.

Unfortunately, it is, or is headed that way. Why? For one thing, it is a system based on price controls.

Price Control

Price controls have never worked, ever, in any society at any time in history. They were tried as early as 301 AD by a Roman emperor Diocletian (243-316 AD), the price controls on pain introduced the death penalty. But even that did not work, and it has worked since. What price controls do is cause shortages, increased costs and disrupted markets.

Look what happened with the Medicare program since 1984, the year the government changed its method of payment for hospital services from a "Cost plus", a system called DRGs (Diagnostic Related groups). DRGs are a method of classifying illnesses and assigning a value for comparison and a specific authorized payment to each. At that time, many hospitals began to lose money because the government began to dictate the prices fixed for the Supplies are paid.

As much as 70% of many hospitals' patients are seniors, whose bills are paid by Medicare. The Federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) determines, in its sole discretion, the price can be charged for seniors' inpatient hospital care, and will pay only 80% of these amounts. The differences between a standard hospital pays fees for the service and the amounts that Medicare must be written off be. They can not be removed from the patient. This is price control.

In addition, because Medicare payments are provided exclusively by Government provides annual cost of living increases are limited, since usually between 1-1/2% and 2-1/2%, despite the fact that hospital costs have years rising at an annual rate of anywhere from 6% to 14%.

Another little known fact is that, from seniors looking for assistance on Medicare preventing outside the Medicare system, even if they are willing to pay the bill are themselves. Any doctor who accepts the payment directly from a senior, by Medicare is covered automatically disqualified from providing care to all Medicare patients over a period of two years. This is especially important in situations in which a patient wants a second opinion and would like to see another doctor. This type of regulation is certainly an element of socialized medicine.

Many hospitals lose money

Between Health Insurance contracts (HMOs) and Medicare limits on their charges, hospitals Generally collect only about 50% of its total transaction volume. The rest is written off. The result of all this is predictable: Many of them are losing money. About one Thirds of all hospitals in California are currently at a loss. With a national health plan, at some point, many hospitals were closed or benefits are reduced. That's been the pattern in every country that has nationalized its health care. Nevertheless, for, be where we are top, despite the compelling evidence that it does not seem to work.

Like the proverbial frog boiled in a pot with cold water, Americans are beginning to notice that the quality of health care is declining, the costs rise further. It has not sunk in just yet. If it does, it will undoubtedly led to believe The government will have the answers and demand more government control, regulation and supervision. And our politicians are only too willing to oblige.

Nationalized health care

Nationalized health care system in America gradually overtaking on the open market and we are all slowly the pot of government intervention cooked. So, you were not on the nature of the health care program we surprised with the time progresses. Whatever your own conclusions, remember one thing: that our leaders do not settle on what they plan to health care for everyone else. As usual, they are their own, superior have plan. And it is not a part of the nationalized health care system that the rest is required of us to use. If you doubt that assertion only on the health plan that look like our Federal Republic legislators and government employees now.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am one of those seniors, Medicare is health insurance and I ran a hospital for about seven years.

© 2008 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved

About the Author

Harris Sherline is a retired Certified Public Accountant and executive. His diverse business background includes experience as a partner in a public accounting firm, as a principal in a number of business ventures and as CEO of a hospital. His conservative commentaries appear weekly in two Santa Barbara newspapers. In addition, his op-ed articles currently appear regularly on three widely read web sites and his own weblog,
Opinionfest.com.

Union Presentation: US vs. Canada Healthcare