47 million Americans have no health insurance at all, and 50 million are seriously under-insured. They only find out when they get ill.
It's estimated that half of the personal bankruptcies in America are the result of unplanned medical expenses. And with many people only insured through their employers, things are expected to get worse as unemployment goes up.
Reforms have been tried before and failed. But everyone - from doctors, Washington insiders and the insurance industry - agrees that the situation is now so dire, changes have to be made.
Chris Jennings, who worked with Hillary Clinton on her doomed campaign to fix the health system and now advises Obama on the same thing, says opponents of change "always use words like socialism, communism and government takeover" but those arguments are becoming harder to sustain these days. "We have a crisis, and that is the only time this country does big things."
My father-in-law in Australia recently had cancer (trachea + mouth), he was operated on within 2 weeks of diagnosis, he has now been cleared and expects to return to work within 6 weeks of the op. All using the public health system. A high quality system, without a single bill from the operation.
Everyone there is taxed to provide for public health care for all, mostly free of charge. It doesn't cripple the economy, it supports the economy by ensuring those struck down by ill-health will return to the workforce fit and healthy, quickly, without crippling debt. Private services are available, which provide competition. But in any case, policy has been able to give the nation an efficient, cost-effective umbrella to all.
There are plenty of models out there, some with flaws, many with solid foundations, that show better outcomes can be achieved. They put the US model to shame.
It's estimated that half of the personal bankruptcies in America are the result of unplanned medical expenses. And with many people only insured through their employers, things are expected to get worse as unemployment goes up.
Reforms have been tried before and failed. But everyone - from doctors, Washington insiders and the insurance industry - agrees that the situation is now so dire, changes have to be made.
Chris Jennings, who worked with Hillary Clinton on her doomed campaign to fix the health system and now advises Obama on the same thing, says opponents of change "always use words like socialism, communism and government takeover" but those arguments are becoming harder to sustain these days. "We have a crisis, and that is the only time this country does big things."
My father-in-law in Australia recently had cancer (trachea + mouth), he was operated on within 2 weeks of diagnosis, he has now been cleared and expects to return to work within 6 weeks of the op. All using the public health system. A high quality system, without a single bill from the operation.
Everyone there is taxed to provide for public health care for all, mostly free of charge. It doesn't cripple the economy, it supports the economy by ensuring those struck down by ill-health will return to the workforce fit and healthy, quickly, without crippling debt. Private services are available, which provide competition. But in any case, policy has been able to give the nation an efficient, cost-effective umbrella to all.
There are plenty of models out there, some with flaws, many with solid foundations, that show better outcomes can be achieved. They put the US model to shame.
