By MICHAEL K. NORRIS
In anticipation of the healthcare debate, the GOP has been insisting that reform would be too expensive. Much too expensive. So expensive it’s crazy to even think about changing our current system; or at least not doing too much.
If anyone in the GOP (or even our own party, for that matter) had any doubts about how staggeringly, painfully backwards the current health care system is in the U.S. and how desperately we need reform, consider the report from the Integrated Care Collaboration in Austin, Texas, which made headlines yesterday: the nonprofit group of healthcare providers found out that nine people made 2,678 emergency room visits, at the cost of about $3,000,000.
If each of those nine made the same number of ER visits over those six years, it means that each made an emergency room visit every 7.3 days for six years. That’s over $55,000 per year, per person.
Some reform ideas (such as universal health care in various packages) are going to be expensive, but I’m guessing if 0.00000003% of the U.S. population can cost three million, we can’t rule out the notion that there are better ways to encourage health, treat ailments, and prevent visits to the emergency room.
Great point!
We have need good health care reform for a long time.
Nice point, but you need to incorporate more lies and fear mongering to get your point of view heard.