U.S. in health care crisis

Associate professor says current system too expensive

Arguing that the current health system is too expensive, an associate professor spoke on the "Pros and Cons of Universal Health Care" Nov. 10 in the Integrated Sciences and Technology Building.

Universal health care coverage is "a system of insurance for all members of a group … for all people of the United States," said David Cockley of health services.

He said it is more common for industrialized countries to have universal health coverage than the United States' current system.

As a result of not having universal coverage, many people do not have any health insurance. At JMU, 12 to 15 percent of the students do not have health insurance, Cockley said.

In 2002, 43.6 million Americans were uninsured, which is 15.35 percent of the population, he said. This number is increasing as well, he added.

Of the uninsured, 62 percent are full-time workers, and 22 percent are part-time workers. The remaining 16 percent are nonworkers, but this includes children and spouses of workers, he said.

"The people who are not insured are not the dead beats," he said. "These are the people who work at Wal-Mart, McDonald's and even construction workers."

Since these people are of lower financial means, they do not have the political clout to change the system, Cockley said.

"When the percentage of uninsured gets high enough … it will hit solidly the middle class, and that will change the dynamics of this discussion," Cockley said.

Even those that have insurance still find they cannot get certain services.

"Everybody's [health] plan is different," he said. "There's no uniformity in that, so there are gaps [between coverage]."

As of now, the United States has some entitlements that provide coverage for citizens who fall in certain groups, such as being a veteran, over the age of 65 or in prison, Cockley said.

The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world. The United States spends about $1.42 trillion a year, which is about $5,085 per person, Cockley said. This is twice as much money as any other nation spends in total and per person, he added.

The United Kingdom spends about $1,000 per person per year, Cockely said.

The United States also spends 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, while Great Britain spends 7.6 percent, he added.

If the United States went to universal health care, then it would be less expensive, Cockley said.
"The economics of universal health insurance makes sense," he said.

People would be able to get earlier and preventive care, which would decrease the amount of visits people make to the emergency room, thus saving the United States a lot of money, Cockley said. This cost shifting would save money and make people healthier, he explained.

By adopting universal health care coverage, the cost of medicine would be more controlled. "It would bring down those health costs in the United States. We aren't healthier than anyone else, so why are we paying more?" he asked.

While universal health care most likely would save the United States money, Cockley said it could result in increased taxes.

Also, there could be explicit rationing of medical services; however, "we ration by people's ability to pay [in the current U.S. system]," he said.

As of now, the United States is looking at Canada as a model for universal insurance, Cockley said.

This system has each province provide services and makes all employers provide health care. However, Cockley said this system would be difficult to transfer to the United States because there would be 50 different groups compared to Canada's 10 provinces.

Instead, Cockley said the United States should look at Germany's model. This is the "oldest health service plain in the world," he said. It has been around since 1883.

This system is based on private insurance, but it is mandated so that every employer must participate. Also, the low income people are insured first, Cockley said.

Through this, 95 percent of the people are insured, and the remaining 5 percent of people tend to be single and would rather put their money toward something else.

The premiums are based on a percentage of wages and are matched by each employer.

The lecture was well received, and students learned found they learned a lot, according to junior Brad Basham.

"I thought it was great," Basham said. "I had no idea our health care system sucked. I'm really glad I came."

Senior Bonnie Saxon said the lecture was sponsored by te OrangeBand Initiative, a movement to allow students to talk about any issue. The purpose of the lecture was to have an open discussion on the idea of universal health care, she said.

For information on OrangeBand and its future events, visit its Web site at www.orangeband.org.