Frank Watson: Healthcare in America

Over the years my old body has been misused to the point of abuse. Although I am no stranger to operating rooms, I have put off having a foot repaired until I could no longer wear a shoe. I finally allowed the surgeons to do their magic early this week. As I lay there waiting for the anesthesiologist who was caught up in morning traffic, I pondered the issue of health care in America.

Over the last eight or nine years, the news has been full of plans and counter plans to fix the medical care problem. Having nothing else to do but think, I reflected back to some of my college classes and focused on Problem Solving 101. I recall the first of the six steps was to define the problem. I’m not sure we have done that.

When I discuss the issue with my friends, the first words I hear are usually, “I wonder why medical care is so expensive?” Neither Obamacare nor any suggested alternatives address cost, because the rising cost of care is not a solvable problem. Costs go up because medicine is constantly advancing.

When my foot was first injured, my doctors could only advise me to use a cane and take pain killers. That is much cheaper than the procedure I had this week. Not long ago, prostate cancer was a death sentence. Now patients can choose from a list of cures, all much more expensive than keeping the terminal patient comfortable. The cost of health care has grown beyond the financial reach of the average American working family. Therefore, our politicians have redefined the problem to be “How do we get someone else to pay for it?”

Obamacare’s answer was to have the insurance companies pay for it. The law mandated that everyone be covered either through employment benefits, private insurance or government assistance. As opponents predicted, however, the Affordable Care Act caused an increase in both insurance rates and the amount of government assistance. Now, the problem for many Americans is the rising cost of health insurance. The news reported this week that medical insurance premiums in northern Idaho are going up 40 percent this year.

If we are to actually find a solution for the problem of health care, we must first determine what the problem is. My military retirement grants me health benefits second only to members of congress. I don’t have a problem. Small business owners are fighting rising costs of providing employee benefits. They have a problem. Those individuals who have no benefits are finding medical costs staggering. They have a different problem. What is the real problem? Until it is clearly defined, we will continue to chase a ghost.

First, however, we must quit using health care as a political football. Both parties have done a great job of spreading panic. There are a few level headed politicians who have suggested a bipartisan approach. I think this idea has merit, but it doesn’t go far enough. I suggest that the administration table the current debate and appoint an independent commission to study health care, define the problem and offer solutions. I further suggest that the findings be made public.

(FRANK WATSON is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long term resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a freelance columnist for over 18 years.)