What Is Our Health Care System Really Costing Us?

I received an appropriately timed Independence Day greeting.  It was from a Chinese history scholar who had recently returned from a world history conference where he’d chaired a panel on slavery.  After reading my post on health insurance in America,  he said it occurred to him that  “the private ‘health’ industry here holds us all in slavery.”

He shared this by Sara Robinson, a fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, posted June 26, 2009:    “We’ve Been Trapped Inside a Bad Health Care System So Long, We Don’t Know How Much We’re Missing.”

After reading Robinson’s post, I found myself thinking of  my cousin Mike, an American pediatrician in Canada.  Mike first had his medical practice in Canada, then in the US, and chose to return to practicing medicine in Canada.   Apparently he finds the Canadian health care system the superior North American system.

While traveling in South America, my son related graphic details of a horrific hospital experience.   He served as supply clerk, guard, nursing assistant, and more to his girlfriend while she was hospitalized for a few days in Ecuador.  It reminded me that certain aspects of our health care system are indeed very positive, and too often are taken for granted.  There’s no question that we do get something of value for all the money we invest.  Nevertheless, Robinson makes a very good case about whether the price we pay is just too high.