Although I still think we as a state have a long way to go, it was heartening to read about a recent report by the Commonwealth Fund that studied the state of healthcare in all 50 states. The result?
Residents of Vermont have the best healthcare in the country, the foundation said. The small northern state, which embarked on a radical plan to provide all citizens with healthcare less than a decade ago, also leads the nation in “equity,” or making sure that people of lower income groups have healthcare.
Us damn socialists! Not surprisingly, the low-tax, super-conservative states fared the worst. It’ll be interesting to see whether they opt-out of the “opt-out public option’ if it passes. If it does, you can watch the jobs in those “right to work” states start to relocate pretty quickly, that’s for sure.
Let us not forget that we are the #1 state in the #37 country in the world, according to the World Health Organization. We come in behind Costa Rica and Morocco. France ranks #1. Freedom Fries anybody?
But yeah, we’re better than Louisiana. woohoo.
Speaking as someone who pays the price of a (crappy) used car every year for a policy with a deductible also worth the price of a (crappy) used car, I can tell you that there is huge room for improvement.
I am expecting that Congress will pass some absurdly compromised gift to the insurance companies with the name “Health Care Reform” pasted to it. I am hoping that Vermont will elect a Democrat who will help pass single payer. Then we can compete with Morocco.
For all our bragging, we’re still getting soaked on the cost end. The Repubs know that, and are still trying to spin the illusion that it’s because we’re socializing the system.
Meanwhile, all over the world, socialist medicine costs half as much, gets much better results for the money invested, and has far fewer useless hangers on who depend on human suffering to build wealth.
Remember, our health care system was built on charitable contributions, and was run by people who wanted to serve.
Our health care system has been taken over by people who only want to reach deep into our pockets, and give back as little as possible!
Our Republican Lite version of health care is succeeding in emptying our wallets, while we are slowly failing in our efforts to cover everyone. Look at Taxachusetts – their efforts have driven up their costs.
The Republican Lite view is that we have two choices: cover everyone, and everyone goes broke, or keep it affordable, and let some go broke, or choose to die.
Half the cost! Half the cost! All over the world, socialist medicine gets better results for half the cost!
Republicans and Republican Liteists want us to ignore half of the cornerstone of economic theory:
When no one has market power,
and build our lives on the second half:
free markets are the most efficient way to allocate goods and services.
When we ignore the first half, we are apt to become slaves of the market, and when people are slaves, their markets are no longer free.
When we are sick unto death, we will pay anything for a chance at life, and people who love us will give what they have, too.
People who know that have been taking advantage of the sick and their families for thousands of years. Those are the people who control our “health” care today.