The main crisis in health care in the USA is unconstitutional government intrusion,
the attendant loss of privacy and liberty.
Problem: Too much reliance on insurance instead of savings, which has deceived
people into trying to buy more health care than they can afford.
solutions: This is mostly a cultural problem. It can be addressed by a combination
of education, tax-sheltered savings, and encouragement of mutual aid societies by
elimination of government barriers to them.
Problem: Too many illegal aliens and too many legal immigrants over the last 120
years, accompanied by too much over-population and over-crowding and too little
assimilation.
solutions: Build and maintain fences along 5,100 miles of border with Canada and
Mexico. Put armed federal troops along the borders to patrol and maintain the
fences, close down tunnels, stop unauthorized fly-overs, capture illegal aliens,
capture or kill invaders, etc. End visa waiver programs. Conduct a proper
background investigation on every visa applicant and charge applicants and
sponsors for the reasonable costs (of course, charities are free to donate to visa
applicants and sponsors). Eliminate [bleep] gimmick, reduce family reunification
priority. Put a hard cap on every visa program (eliminate the many loop-holes and
exemptions). Require H-1B and L applicants to demonstrate an IQ of at least 160,
aggregate ACT score of 34+, aggregate SAT score 1560+ or "new" aggregate SAT
score 2100+, or aggregate GRE above 1615. Up the investment visa requirement
to at least $200K and 4 US citizens employed within 6 months.
Problem: The AMA has had too much of a lock on the profession and erected
artificial and excessive barriers to entry.
solutions: Simply take them out of the loop on decisions of med school capacities,
building and accreditation of new med schools, etc.
Problem: Failure to remove bad doctors in a timely manner.
solution: This is a bit trickier. We need to be able to tell an honest mistake from
incompetence or evil-doing. Reduce the AMA's influence. Educate the public more,
and hence juries.
Problem: Outrageous malpractice awards (from juries miffed at #5, but also due to
jury shopping and judicial corruption).
solution: Educate the public, and hence juries. The reduction of reliance on
government and insurance will improve the public's demand, supply, cost, price
savvy, and so will making the books of corporate hospitals more public.
Problem: High infant mortality (for a multitude of reasons from ignorance of certain
details of nutrition and child-care to drugs to casual/promiscuous sex to under-
valuing of babies due to over-population in part and the cultural support for/
acceptance of abortion).
solutions: Education. Improved economy. Less immigration.
Problem: The sizable socio-economic sump (and also drags down average
academic performance).
solutions: Education. Less immigration. Improved economy. This was actually
improving somewhat before Medicare and Medicaid hit.
Problem: Every regulatory agency becomes captive of those it was originally
intended to regulate, who turn it to their own purposes, including blocking new/
potential competitors.
solutions: Health care and insurance are not amongst the federal government's
enumerated delegated powers. Push this back down to the state level, for them to
defend against initiated force and fraud (fraudulent claims, and fraudulent insurance
i.e. failure to pay valid claims). Encourage interstate commerce in insurance of all
kinds by disallowing corporations from walling off each state's profits and losses
(which currently allows them to selectively open up the spigot from states where
there are profits and closing them to states in which that subsidiary has a
temporary loss). Open the insurance corporations' books to more public scrutiny
by requiring that their accounts for the last decade be posted on the web.
Problem: Violation of privacy by federal government and protection rackets.
solutions: Ban all federal government access to medical records other than
massive, statewide aggregate statistics and epidemics. Ban out-sourcing and off-
shoring of medical/health records. Restore the Hippocratic oath/affirmation.
Problem: Too much unconstitutional interference by the feral federal government.
solutions: Eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, the Socialist Insecurity Abomination,
federal laws requiring treatment of every one who comes to a hospital funded by
unconstitutional federal loans, and eliminate the federal loans.
The head of corporate social responsibility for British Telecom Americas (Kevin Moss) has posted a blog on what is a rather touchy topics these days: the U.S. healthcare crisis. Yes, I’m calling it a crisis because it is.
His rather pointed question to peers in his position is the following: Why hasn’t there been more commentary on healthcare reform among this community. You should definitely read his whole post here but his observation is that this debate carries all the main characteristics of typical social issues:
- The solution (or lack thereof) will have a profound impact on society at large
- It will affect a majority of employees
- It will carry major cost implications for employers
- It poses an ethical dilemma
- It could have a positive (or negative) impact on brand awareness
I have one theory about why more companies haven’t been especially vocal about all that’s going on and it is this: While corporate sustainability strategy at large stands to have a very beneficial impact on a company’s cost structure, the same can’t currently be said about healthcare. I mean, not to be too blase or jaded about it, but look at Wal-Mart. It isn’t interested in the sustainability of its supply chain just because it makes the company look good. It is interested because it can become more efficient in the process.
On paper or at least when you look at the short term, healthcare is a very polarizing, expensive issue for companies both small and large with few visible, tangible benefits. But over the long term, isn’t the health of employees a real issue, especially if more of your staff will be working later into their life? What’s more, aren’t the companies that do healthcare right more likely to attract the right employees? I honestly believe that salary and healthcare are almost on a par, now, when it comes to the things that a job candidate will consider before joining your company.
As we look at the light approaching at the end of the tunnel as far as economic growth is concerned, now might be the time to take action on your healthcare coverage strategy. Heck, if enough businesses big and small push back on the system and say ‘Enough is enough,” maybe that will have more of an impact than this annoying, endless debate.
Weigh in with me or with Kevin Moss, you have a moral obligation to do so.
