If you only watched the 6 o’clock news you would be left with the impression that the debate surrounding health care insurance reform taking place across America isn’t really a debate at all, but rather a shouting match.
Even Michigan’s Senate Majority Leader, Mike Bishop, welcomes these "angry mobs."
What has been lost in all of the media exposure to these town halls are the facts, and moreover, the specific stories of how the current health care system is broken. I am not one to extrapolate from an isolated incident, but the more you read about our current health care system the more you realize these are not unique cases, but endemic to the system.
Here is a choice snippet from a story posted on Andrew Sullivan’s site, The Daily Dish:
My father´s obesity related illnesses and time spent on disability have cost taxpayers an incredible amount of money. All of this could have been avoided if my father´s insurer 10 years ago would have been required to provide him the care he needed. But private insurers realize that the average patient only stays with them for 2-3 years, so they aren´t interested in reducing long-term healthcare costs because it´s the next company that sees the benefits.
The central point to take home is that the incentive structure our current system operates on is backwards. Health Care Insurance companies pass the buck on treating patients, denying them coverage that would – in the end – save the system money.
You can read the rest of the story by clicking here.