Can The New Administration Fix The Healthcare System?
President-elect Barack Obama and his team will be next in line to try to fix the nation’s bloated and costly healthcare system. Despite the fact that the government is pouring out money at a torrential pace to try to save the financial system, one of the stated goals of the incoming administration is a massive overhaul of a healthcare system which has left over 45 million Americans uninsured.
Former Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle has been nominated as Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. If confirmed, Daschle will become Obama’s point man in the effort to reform healthcare in this country.
Something needs to be done soon because according to reports from the Government Accounting Office, Medicare is set to become insolvent sometime in 2019. Healthcare cost have been spiraling out of control for decades, far outpacing inflation.
While many politicians are opposed to the idea of a socialized medicine, having 45 million Americans without healthcare insurance is unacceptable for a nation of our stature. Since emergency rooms must provide care for any person regardless of insurance, much of the burden has fallen on state budgets which are becoming increasingly hard pressed in the wake of disruptions to the municipal bond market over the past year.
Thus far only one state has instituted mandated universal coverage, Massachusetts, and despite paying lower costs for emergency room visits, the state is quickly finding that costs are much higher than was predicted. Still it can be considered a partial success as the number of uninsured in the state has shrunk dramatically.
Hopefully the new administration can learn from the trials and errors that Massachusetts is currently undergoing in crafting a system that is both cost effective and all encompassing which can provide affordable healthcare to every American.
