Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Worse than the Disease

I've been doing a little reading on healthcare and the upcoming Obamacare fiasco that we're all facing and have come to a few conclusions.
First off there's no doubt in my mind that healthcare in America needs some kind of reform. Just ask anyone who's been presented with a bill from a hospital that equals 2x's or more their annual salary.
I've been alive long enough to watch health care costs soar astronomically with absolutely no attempt by the industry to control the costs.
Which, IMO, is why the backlash against Obamacare hasn't been overwhelming enough yet to force the politicians to go back to the drawing board.
For an idea how bad it can be see this article.

Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

When we can be charged up to 1000% above the cost then something is really wrong with the system.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in fair market principles and the need to make a profit but when there is absolutely no information to make an informed decision prior to your life being on the line then the idea of fair market kind of goes out the window.

If the health industry don't like what's coming then they have themselves to blame for the most part, but then again as far as I can tell Obamacare does very little to control what hospitals and insurance companies can charge so they won't feel much pressure to change.
Which brings me to the obvious next step in our healthcare nightmare, the fact that Obamacare is basically designed to collapse under it's own weight.
The entire shift will be towards individuals to pay for insurance with ever increasing premiums in order to be insured.

Once it becomes an "entitlement" the government overlords will be under increasing pressure from more and more people who can't afford the premiums to pay more and provide more putting more pressure on the top tier to pay more in taxes to accommodate an ever greedy public and hospital administrators.
For a taste of what's coming in the near term read this.

Daniel Kessler: The Coming ObamaCare Shock

This will not end well for anyone and the potential for a lot of suffering in the next few years is pretty much assured.
Health care reform is needed, but not Obamacare and I'm afraid that it will take the complete collapse of health care as we knew it before any real changes will ever come about.

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