Health Care & Education Socialism in the U.S

 In this post, let me put the spotlight back on health in the U.S. I had written about it immediately after I came to U.S. with my limited knowledge. But truly the subject needs vast improvement. I am living off this health care system and can’t tell if the existing scheme of things is right or wrong but from outside the health care simply seems primitive in the country. There is a huge scope for improvement while keeping the rules of game unchanged. Yes, you need to improve and not change something drastically. This is a comment from an insider and an outsider will have a 180 degree transformation in mind. We cannot simply understand why we ended up where we are as far this subject is concerned. Without prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment, this could get to any other unintended destination. Hence corrective measures are required, which could alter the course of the health care in the U.S. for the better. Let us look at few basic aspects as to why we got here and see why there is a huge room for improvement.

The basic rules of game are all same anywhere. A person becomes a doctor since it is a noble profession of treating and saving people’s lives. He becomes a doctor by studying the anatomy of the human body, medications, treatment, and their influence on restoring an individual to prime form. There is a patient and there is a doctor who are the two most important people of the game. Science is the important subject for the discharge of the duties. Things would have been better off if it stays that way. But we travelled through the time and came to the point where medical math, medical finance, medical economics and medical business have become the important subjects to decide a persons health. We have come to a time where health care has eclipsed the basic tenets of operation and become an unwanted, unintended lever of the nation’s economy. The health care has simply regressively progressed, and it should never become a billion-dollar business in first place.

When you learn that health care has a major thrust on the economy, it is simply not the position to be in. You should never come to the point where the health of the populace is a major area to do business. When the entities are just two – a doctor and a patient, there cannot be a whole network of players around them. It is a sad truth that these players fall into the below categories – managed care, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and medical services who operate a big business network. The multiple players in these categories are into multi-billion dollar operations with profits on par and operate like any modern organization muzzling its way through money power. There are famous corporations in these varied categories which are drawing multi-billion revenues. It can be good for any other reason but not when it puts the health care of common people unaffordable. You can run business empires but simply not on the core edifice of health. The result - the U.S. ranks last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes among 11 high income countries. The United States ranks last overall, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care.

The health-care sector is in many ways the most consequential part of the United States economy. The health-care sector now employs 11 percent of American workers and accounts for 24 percent of government spending. Health insurance is the largest component (26 percent) of nonwage compensation and health care is one of the largest categories of consumer spending - 8.1 percent of consumer expenditures. A well-functioning health-care sector is therefore a prerequisite for a well-functioning economy. Sixty years ago, health care was 5 percent of the U.S. economy, at around 20 percent, it was nearly four times that now. Unfortunately, the problems with U.S. health care are substantial. The United States spends more than other countries without obtaining better health outcomes.

Leave the low-income and the developing countries which doesn’t have this system of health care at all. The middle-income, developing countries like India have much better systems in place for health care. We should not compare with those countries and equate within the same level. Still, as mentioned, the U.S. fares badly in all the statistics when compared with developed countries which employ similar systems. Four features distinguish top performing countries from the United States: 1) they provide for universal coverage and remove cost barriers; 2) they invest in primary care systems to ensure that high-value services are equitably available in all communities to all people; 3) they reduce administrative burdens that divert time, efforts, and spending from health improvement efforts; and 4) they invest in social services, especially for children and working-age adults. Simply, the four features highlight at the minimum, that they value health of people and not big money.

Just as we had seen, there are business empires, huge money, huge chunk of economy relying on this and yet the outcomes are left much to be desired. The health care isn’t meeting the primary objectives in the country. This simply cannot continue this way and the inflection point to deflect the course is now than ever. There is a need for reduction of capitalism and infusing socialism into health care. There is a need for equitable distribution and access of health care to rich and poor alike. While health care policies need to be chosen by taking the big money out of equation, health care socialism needs to be doled out by the state. The government needs to act with the changes in the time to take policy decisions on health care which impacts the citizens favorably and broadly improves the nations health in all parameters. Once again, the inflection point has reached, and the inflation reduction act (IRA) addresses these health care issues which affects millions of citizens.

The government in the last one and half year is going big and huge on many of the areas. There are two path-defining and ground-breaking bills which have been passed and signed by the President in the last two weeks which would have been impossible in normal days to see the light of the day. The intent of the U.S. government in putting these huge laws into effect is highly admirable. It once again proves the democrats highly cares for the people. Millions of Americans struggle to afford their health care costs and premiums. The health care reforms in the inflation reduction act package, passed a week back are the most significant since the 2010 affordable care act by the federal government. Everyone including the corporates support the federal fillip to its programs. The uninsured hit the lowest ever. For older Americans, the health bill will bring savings and peace of mind. People will save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year on prescriptions. The Inflation Reduction Act is a Milestone Achievement in lowering Americans’ Health Care Costs.

This historic bill greatly reduces the cost of health care for millions of Americans who buy coverage on their own and for many Medicare beneficiaries. It will enable people to get and keep affordable coverage in the ACA marketplaces, where the cost of premiums is the most often-cited reason people don’t enroll or drop coverage. The progress on prescription drugs is a milestone achievement toward making prescription drugs more affordable for Medicare patients and could pave the way for future reforms.

By virtue of what has been realised, this is a health-care socialism in action to make health care affordable and holistic. This will simply help to make health care more universal and helps to put the patient in the center; not his finances. As it is a significant milestone, our job as insiders is half done in bringing the flagship health reform act since Obamacare. It is all the more important to reach the benefits to the much-needed people.

In a similar act which is going to affect millions of U.S. borrowers who took student loans, the government has announced loan forgiveness to all the students under which Ten thousand dollars will be forgiven for borrowers who earn less than $125,000 or households earning less than $250,000. It is estimated that around 41 million debt holders will be eligible for some form of student loan forgiveness, and that 25 million of those people will be eligible for up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness. Twenty million people or 45%, including 3.8 million Black borrowers, could have their entire debts cancelled. Everyone know the higher education is very costly in the country and this forgiveness to the students is a timely step to give a huge relief.

There is a reason to live with hope for an average American and these days it is not going to be tough for the poor common man of this country with the way things have panned out. There is a practical, primitive socialism in action – the uniform re-distribution of goods to all sections of people by the government. The huge disparity in health and education has been met in the past two weeks. This is once again equity in action and the bridge between the rich and poor. It is in the air and the tide is in favor – the state simply rode on top of it. You simply cannot expect more and cannot expect better; to build back a better nation.