Friday
Jun262009
« Healthcare reform needed, maybe not »
Friday, June 26, 2009 at 06:25PM
Can healthcare be reformed? Or maybe it doesn't need to be. The status quo could be kept with the same healthcare system. People must be getting quality care based on the numbers of people going through hospitals. Maybe the complainers are getting too much airtime.
We've gathered highlights of what we're seeing and hearing out there. We wanted to contribute to the conversation with facts we find on Twitter, blogs, TV, and people we know. This is a complicated problem. What do you think?
"US spends more on healthcare than any other country but ranks 26th on life expectancy."
Many people are asking, "Where is the money going?" Some look to the inefficiencies in the system. Dr. Brenner says there's too much paperwork. Nurses spend 44% of of their time doing admin work, instead of patient focused care.
Others talk about the rising cost of insurance and benefit plans for families. Kathleen Sebelius (Health and Human Services Secretary) urges healthcare reform and publishes a report on healthcare costs. Families are struggling to get quality care for a price they can afford.
"Up to 30% of healthcare spending does little towards improving a person's health."
Nightline's Charles Gibson interviews President Obama in the Whitehouse and talks about compelling arguments on driving down costs for everyone. There were concerns about a government-run healthcare plan but Obama says it will help contain administration costs and keep the private insurance companies honest.
"100 million people are under-insured or not insured."
Dr. Arnold Relman, one of the best known physicians with a book: A Second Opinion - Rescuing America's Health Care, says the US spends twice as much per capita (and twice as much as Canada) yet the US is not better off than other countries when comparing infant mortality, healthcare statistics and life expectancy. He advocates a single payor system.
"At it's best, medical care in the US is equal to or better than medical care anywhere."
While there are many problems with US healthcare system, medical care in the US is excellent and uncomparable to any other country. Can the healthcare system make this quality care uniformly available and give people the care they need? That, perhaps, is the question we should be asking.
We've gathered highlights of what we're seeing and hearing out there. We wanted to contribute to the conversation with facts we find on Twitter, blogs, TV, and people we know. This is a complicated problem. What do you think?
"US spends more on healthcare than any other country but ranks 26th on life expectancy."
Many people are asking, "Where is the money going?" Some look to the inefficiencies in the system. Dr. Brenner says there's too much paperwork. Nurses spend 44% of of their time doing admin work, instead of patient focused care.
Others talk about the rising cost of insurance and benefit plans for families. Kathleen Sebelius (Health and Human Services Secretary) urges healthcare reform and publishes a report on healthcare costs. Families are struggling to get quality care for a price they can afford.
"Up to 30% of healthcare spending does little towards improving a person's health."
Nightline's Charles Gibson interviews President Obama in the Whitehouse and talks about compelling arguments on driving down costs for everyone. There were concerns about a government-run healthcare plan but Obama says it will help contain administration costs and keep the private insurance companies honest.
"100 million people are under-insured or not insured."
Dr. Arnold Relman, one of the best known physicians with a book: A Second Opinion - Rescuing America's Health Care, says the US spends twice as much per capita (and twice as much as Canada) yet the US is not better off than other countries when comparing infant mortality, healthcare statistics and life expectancy. He advocates a single payor system.
"At it's best, medical care in the US is equal to or better than medical care anywhere."
While there are many problems with US healthcare system, medical care in the US is excellent and uncomparable to any other country. Can the healthcare system make this quality care uniformly available and give people the care they need? That, perhaps, is the question we should be asking.
tagged reform
reform
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