CMS Update                                     2/17/03

Myths and Fairy Tales

     Our healthcare system is full of misinformation and so in this CMS update we will try for some truthful revelations.

1. The Canadian Healthcare System is "no good" consisting of long waits for appointments and procedures:

     This is a half-truth as the truth of the matter is that the Canadian is woefully underfunded and lacking in the technology and specialists we have. Hence the long waits for appointments and treatments. Therefore, some Canadians with money come to the United States for treatment. And yet, when queried, the vast majority of Canadians approve of their National Health Insurance System. The poor press their system in Canada gets is due in large part to American insurers and other medical interests who would like to see the Canadian healthcare system go private. There is nothing like American spin-meisters in the P.R. business, eager to stake out business opportunities for clients. Canada, a nation of 40 million is there for the picking if its healthcare were privatized. American interests would have a golden opportunity.

2. We can’t afford National Health Insurance in America. It’s too expensive:

     Not true, we already spend more than double per capita what any other nation in the world spends on healthcare, including Canada. We would save up to 150 billion dollars just by getting rid of the administrative overhead in running our current failed for-profit system. A National Health Insurance Plan could be set up within the Medicare system we now have. Medicare is efficient and costs a mere 2% per year to run and not the 12-15% currently in evidence in our for profit health system. Our costs keep rising with diminishing services. Profit and healthcare are incompatible. We must remove greed from the system. It corrupts and with our resources we can do it.

3. Medical Malpractice is rampant:

     Recently even our misinformed President called these suits "junk lawsuits and frivolous." The truth of the matter is they have been declining for over 10 years. It's too costly and time consuming for lawyers to sue. The legal system only selects cases with the possibility of high returns. The truth of the matter is that of every 7 cases of medical malpractice only 1 ever makes it into the legal system. The insurance industry has jacked up medical malpractice premiums for doctors due to loses in the stock and bond markets, and not because of excessive litigations. When money is needed, the insurers go to the "cash cows", the doctors.

4. The Patient Bill Of Rights Is A Good Thing:

     Baloney! It’s a misfired concept. People in HMO's can now sue if treatment is denied. Hardly a recipe for avoiding adverse effects. This becomes a lengthy, painful process of litigation. Remember, HMO's make money by denying services.  Kennedy missed the boat on this one, we need a true Patient Bill of Rights for everyone. Prevention first, but that would involve major regulation in an industry that is totally unregulated, our health care system.

5. All medical errors are accidents:

     Another falsehood. It is estimated that up to 30% are criminal in nature, that is, the result of criminally negligent behavior. And no structure currently exists to deal with this criminality in healthcare. Obviously it is overdue. This fact alone makes our healthcare system unsafe.

6. Will your healthcare plan exist when you’re ready to retire from your job?:

     Probably not. On February 8, 2003, in the New York Times, Bethlehem Steel which is now in Bankruptcy Court is seeking an end to both healthcare and life insurance benefits for its 95,000 retirees and dependants. They are being bought out by another company who will certainly not want to carry this burden. People have worked a lifetime in corporate America thinking these benefits were secure. The current economy cannot sustain such vast costs. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Other corporations around the country are struggling with these benefit and cost issues. And all of them should be supporting a National Single Payer Plan in America as should their union member employees.