Understanding the Healthcare Debate

Seems like nobody really understands the healthcare debate. The United States has undisputed the best healthcare in the world. We contribute to more advances in medicine then any other country with the exception of Israel.

With that said, we also have our problems. The key to "We Don't Get It" comes in statements like "if the rest of the world can have universal healthcare, why can't we?" It is foolish logic such as this that dooms healthcare in America.

Simple logic say that if you already have the best, doing what others are doing will make it like theirs and by definition worst then what we have. As long as this sentiment is foisted on the American people we will continue to spiral in a pit of do nothing. We need original ideas or better definition to the problem at hand.

I have laid this problem out very clearly a couple of years ago in an post I wrote titled,

How To Make Healthcare Cheaper.

The Key Points Covered:

Cost of Illegal Immigration to our healthcare system

Tort Reform - Frivolous and Record Breaking Awards

Education and Personal Health Responsibility

Freeing up Health Professionals to Deal with actual Health issues

Doctor Availability and the lack of new doctors entering the market

3rd party payer healthcare places incentives in the wrong area (HMOs and the real cost)

One of the other talking points that keeps log jamming progress is prescription drugs. I constantly hear people complaining about pharmaceutical companies making a killing on our backs. They usually go on to give the following as testimony, "I can order drugs online from outside the US and get them for half the cost as I can get them here."

Let me first be real clear -- I don't work for any drug company nor do I currently hold any stocks from said companies. Nobody is paying me to write this.

The difference in cost of drugs in and out of country comes down to a blackmail scheme that we allow to continue. Let me explain.

It takes untold years of research to develop a new drug, costing millions of dollars. That is followed by years of testing and proving to the standards of the FDA and to the standards of practice. Once again millions of dollars are spent in the hope of approval so the new drug can be marketed. Copyrighting is a small expense but only gives the company a small window to recoup the vast expense of bringing the drug to market. This window is generally seven to ten years.

The pharmaceutical company has to recover the vast expense and replenish the capital in order to develop new drugs.

Now here is where the blackmail scheme comes in. Foreign nations learn of this new drug and want it for there population as well. They threaten the company who has invested so much with ignoring the copyright and making it themselves if they don't supply it at a suggested cut throat price. The company has a choice of complying with the demand and making some money or loosing everything. They then boost the price in any markets they can to redeem the vast expense.

People like the one mentioned above help to perpetuate this theft and cast blame on the company who has provided them with the medical benefit. Our government does nothing to penalize these nations for their acts and then allows our companies to be verbally abused.

We have some real issues that need addressing in healthcare. Unfortunately, our government pretends not to recognize any of them. Let's not wreck our healthcare system with a government take over. Tell them what the problems are so we can have real solutions for incredible healthcare. We don't want anything less.