The following content has been automatically translated by close 

Why Healthcare Is In Bad Shape and the Government Can’t Fix It

By Expert Author: S Porter | Article Abstract
Word Count: 727 words | Views: 232 view(s)
Most people in the United States are upset with the state of our healthcare system, and I have heard many different explanations why it’s this bad. The main complaint about our healthcare system is the price tag because the cost of health insurance has gone through the roof. In addition, healthcare providers have become more distant and less responsive to Americans questions about how to take care of themselves. The worse it gets, the louder the cries become for some kind of healthcare reform; including a government based program or universal healthcare. The reasons for the problems in our healthcare system are easy to understand, but many people have no idea what’s really going on.

For starters, our system is already partially socialized. Medicare and Medicaid are government based programs that give free health services to the underprivileged and the elderly. When healthcare is free, people go much more often and for every imaginable reason; so the 20% on these programs create a larger bill than the other 80% that are paying for it. The government is on an eternal quest to make these costs go down, so they have limited how much doctors and hospitals can charge Uncle Sam for these services. As a result, healthcare providers must raise costs for the people who are paying for it and their health insurance premiums go up. Obama’s administration has decided to try and fix this problem by further socializing the system and offering free healthcare to about 40%, but this will only lead to even higher costs for the population that is already paying for it.

The other big reason for price hikes in the health field is our culture of sue now, sue later and then sue some more. Doctors are people just like you and me, and occasionally they make mistakes. Today Americans can sue their doctors for any reason they feel like and the more we do, the more expensive insurance becomes for the doctor. These costs then get passed on to the people who are paying for their health insurance and doctors become even more hesitant to help patients. If the doctor tells you that a treatment will help your condition, but it doesn’t and they get sued for it; then the next time around they are much less likely to even try to fix your condition. Once again, the government doesn’t see this as a large problem and encourages patients to sue more.

As a result of all these price increases, health insurance companies are also looking for ways to cut costs. The easiest way for them to do this is to limit the amount and types of services that consumers can get from their healthcare providers. As long as private insurance exists, you can shop around until you find one that covers what you want; but if we move to universal healthcare, that choice will go away. I’ve heard many people including the president himself say that private insurance won’t disappear with government healthcare, but there isn’t any way for insurance companies to really compete with a “free” plan that everyone is already paying for anyway. In the UK and Canada they have already adopted a universal healthcare system and their citizens now have to wait in very long lines to get the simplest of procedures. To keep their costs down, their governments now decide who is worth saving and who isn’t by a committee of bureaucrats!

There are free market solutions to these problems, but the outcry for reform is so great now that I don’t know if people are willing to listen. Limiting lawsuits to very serious matters would bring healthcare costs down, and weaning people off Medicare and Medicaid would bring them down much further. I think we can all agree that some form of healthcare should exist for those that can’t care for themselves, but is that really 40% of this entire country? One free market solution is discount health programs like Ameriplan. These programs are very inexpensive, but they only provide a discount at the doctor rather than just paying for it; this way you only go to the doctor when you need to, and you get a discount on services when you do.
S Porter

About the Author/Author Bio

I have worked in the health and dental care fields for many years. The cost of covering a family with regular health insurace has risen far faster than wages can keep up with. I now work with a company called Ameriplan that offers a discount program to help lower health costs.

Article Source: http://www.it.articlesphere.com/Article/Why-Healthcare-Is-In-Bad-Shape-and-the-Government-Can-rsquo-t-Fix-It/186040

Article Submitted: 2009-05-13 | This Article has been viewed 232 times.

Rate Article

Related Videos

Never Trust Anyone Over Thirty
Bionic Vision System
Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
Healthcare Benefits During Retirement
Learn About Healthcare
 

More "Health And Fitness" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Health And Fitness" article category.

People interested in the above article "Why Healthcare Is In Bad Shape and the Government Can’t Fix It" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
Get Health With A Low Impact Fitness Workout
If you want to lose weight then you probably associate weight loss with high impact exercise fitness workout. The kind of workouts where you're on the go the whole time and finish dripping in sweat and exhausted.
How To Make A Fitness Training Program
If you want to create your own fitness training program, there are a few things that you are going to want to take into consideration and a few tips that you will be able to use very much to your advantage. Of all the best fitness training program and fitness strength training tips out there, here are a few of the very best which will help you create the most perfect fitness training program for yourself.
Handiness With A Home Fitness Workout
If the time and distance needed to get to the gym has been your number one excuse for not exercising then you have no excuse with a home fitness workout. When you decide to be your own fitness trainer you will see that losing weight doesn't have to be hard. You can get into shape in your own home without spending much money.
STD’s - Meet the Family
There are some families you just don't want moving into your suburb aren't there? You know the type; messy, unsightly, dirty, smelly and a downright menace to polite society. The STD family of diseases is one you definitely don't want setting up camp in your own personal (ahem) neighbourhood. But the thing is, even with easy STD testing available, it looks like this is one family that's here to stay so, if they're sticking around, perhaps you ought to get to know them just a little better.
Home Fitness Workout: Maintaining Yourself Health While Dealing With Stress
Studies show that stress is connected with weight problems. A lot of people find comforts in food and eat too much when they are stressed out. If you are one of those people who eat when they are stressed out, you should cut that habit right away. Instead of eating to calm yourself, try getting into a home fitness workout program to relieve stress.
Doing A Fitness Workout Routine When On Holiday
When you're on holiday it's easy to not think twice about indulging in treats you would keep far, far away from. Or to completely slack off on your usual fitness routine and come home overweight.
Home Fitness Gym: Work Out At Home And Stay Fit
Are you one of those people who tend to gain weight easily? If you are one of those people who have weight problems, consider investing some money into a home fitness gym. No, those diet pills are not the answer to your weight problems.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Health And Fitness
 
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish