Biggest Problems: Medicare

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:56 pm by Tony Jones

Biggest Problems: Medicare 2015-03-13T16:56:54-05:00 Tony Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Part of a series on the Five Biggest Problems Facing America:

Introduction

5. Unnecessary wars

4. Inequalities in public education

3. Corporate tax loopholes (Tuesday)

2. Medicare (Wednesday)

1. Money in politics (Thursday)

Conclusion (Friday)

Our healthcare system is broken. Super broken. IMHO, the only thing more broken is our politics, and we’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Healthcare is broken for a number of reasons, but if we’ve got to pick one, it’s got to be Medicare. Yesterday, an Op Ed in the StarTribune reported that an orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. charges twice as much for that procedure as doctors in other Western countries. That doctor charges what he does based on what Medicare will reimburse him for that procedure. The calculation is usually this: take what Medicare will reimburse, upcharge 65%, and send that bill to the insurance company or, in the worse case scenario, to the uninsured patient.

So we’ve got an odd public-private thing going on in medicine in America. The health care system is run by private, often for-profit, corporations, but it is regulated by the federal government. Whether you think that regulation is light or heavy depends on your perspective. But, I think that both-and solution doesn’t work.

The free market does some things well. Computers, for instance. But health care it does not do well. That’s because when people are buying a computer, they’re usually in a good state to make a major purchase. But when they need to make medical decisions, they are most often ailing, and not in good stead to shop around.

But, even worse, is that Medicare is going bankrupt — a lot faster than Social Security. We cannot pay as a society for what we have promised. The costs of Medicare are vastly overtaking its revenue, and this reality is crippling our economy.

I realize that I disagree with some commenters here, like Patrick, whom I respect greatly. I do think that the government does some things better than the market. Health care is one. Thus, I’m for, dare I say it, a socialized health care system in the U.S.

christianity in america

politics

biggest problems

Previous Post

September 21, 2011

A Sexologist Weighs in on Pat Robertson and Alzheimer's

Next Post

September 22, 2011 More Proof that Corporations Are Not Persons

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category bible blogging books christianity in america church church history dissertation divorce Dog Training education emergent church essay family funny glbt jopa productions ministry minnesota movies music parenting philosophy politics Prayer publishing Questions That Haunt random same sex marriage speaking spirituality Teaching technology television theology Travels Uncategorized writing youth ministry

Select a Month January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 June 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004 February 2004 January 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was king when Daniel was thrown into the lions' den?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Darius Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar Cyrus