AlterNet: Our Health Care System Is Organized for the Wealthy -- We Can Change That

[marmar]

Our Health Care System Is Organized for the Wealthy -- We Can Change That

By Maggie Mahar, AlterNet. Posted February 18, 2009.

We are accustomed to living in a sharply tiered society, but it doesn't have to be that way with health care.



Princeton health care economist Uwe Reinhardt recently recalled asking Victor Fuchs, a colleague, "When will we ever have universal health insurance in the U.S.?" Fuchs' answer: "Not until World War III, a Great Depression, or a major epidemic that threatens everyone."

In other words, Fuchs believed that it would take a catastrophe before Americans might finally realize that we are all in one boat together: Wars, natural disasters and economic upheaval can create great solidarity.

We may not have long to wait for that moment. Despite President Obama's best efforts, it is all but inevitable that this recession will deepen. As the president recently warned, this is not an "ordinary, run-of –the-mill" recession. In the worst-case scenario, the meltdown could lead to a "lost decade" of growth.

At this point, America's middle-class finds itself on the edge of a cliff. As unemployment rises, it will become apparent how quickly an upper-middle-class family can find itself part of the middle class -- no longer able to afford private school, skiing vacations, or, in the worst case scenario, the payments on a mega- mortgage. Meanwhile, middle-class families risk slipping quietly into the nearly invisible lower-middle-class -- a group often referred to as "the working poor." ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/126669/our_health_care_system_is_organized_for_the_wealthy_--_we_can_change_that/

[Vinca]

1. Employed people are living in a fool's paradise when it comes to healthcare.

Their lives are, literally, in the hands of the employer. Now that businesses are tanking, many of the employed will be getting giant medical bills in the mail after the insurer informs the provider the premium hasn't been paid by the employer. We need a national, not-for-profit, healthcare system and the sooner the better.

[Captain Hilts]

2. It's called 'rationing'. nt