 | Bob Gabordi is executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com. He can be reached through this blog, at bgabordi@tallahassee.com or (850) 599-2177 |
On health care, one thing we all seem to agree on is that it’s expensive and getting more so.
It’s the why and what to do about it that is causing great and at times angry debate.
On Sunday, the Tallahassee Democrat presented what we call a nonlinear report on our health-care system and the debate now going on in Congress and across America on what to do about insurance. It looked at how Florida, in particular, might be affected.
The term nonlinear in this case means that no long narrative explaining or offering opinions about the information was included. The purpose was to present factual information in as unbiased a format as possible.
That, of course, didn’t stop readers from forming and expressing opinions, and the online discussion, as usual, went way beyond the scope of the presented information, as well it should.
Many readers seemed to recognize that the number of Americans who are uninsured is growing, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Many seem concerned about the growing costs – skyrocketing, costs really – of private insurance and the growth of Medicare.
The problem with this debate, as with most others these days, is that it quickly moves away from a discussion about what to do – if anything – about rising health-insurance costs and the resulting lower quality of care. It degenerates into blaming, name-calling and bumper-sticker type debates so typical of talk radio and Web trash talking.
For instance, one online poster this weekend suggested that the number of uninsured is up because of the drain “illegal immigrants” place on the system. In other words, hard-working American citizens are going to be forced to pay for people who should not be in this country.
Whether that’s true or not, it is not what is causing such a rapid rise in the number of uninsured Americans and masks a much bigger issue.
According to the bipartisan group, The National Coalition on Health Care, co-chaired by former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, 80 percent of the uninsured are citizens and about 70 percent come from families with at least one full-time worker. Another 11 percent come from families with at least one part-time worker.
Why is that important information? Because it suggests the cause of the growing number of uninsured is more complex than a slogan that fits nicely into a line leading up to commercial break. It suggests there are issues that even the plan being put forward by President Obama doesn’t really address.
As America shifts from a manufacturing-based to a service-based economy, and as businesses become smaller and less able to absorb health-care insurance, fewer employers are able to offer quality coverage.
And as workers earn less in such jobs, fewer can afford their share of the cost of coverage and opt out.
As the rhetoric has heated up, lost in all of this is health, which is the ultimate concern, no?
According to the World Health Organization, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom all have lower adult mortality rates for cardiovascular disease and noncommunicable diseases, though only Sweden has a lower mortality rate for cancer.
I picked those nations, by the way, because Canada and Sweden have health-insurance systems comparable to that being proposed in Congress. The U.K.’s system goes much further, with government ownership of most of the health-care system.
This, of course, doesn’t tell the whole story. There are lots and lots and lots of other factors that come into play in determining health results (cultural and lifestyle choices, for example). But the bigger point is this: Don’t believe the hype and turn off the rhetoric. Do your own research using good sources of information.
This is one of those big and important issues that may change a lot of things, and we need to be well-educated consumers. It deserves a better airing of facts than its getting in Washington, on talk radio or the blogosphere.
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