'A minus': America lags other nations' bang for the buck

by Mike Newcomb - Aug. 18, 2009 12:00 AM
Special for the Republic
AZ Republic

I would give President Barack Obama an "A-" for his efforts to date on health-care reform. America spends more on medical care than any country on the planet. But instead of a Cadillac, we get a clunker.

The facts don't lie. The United States ranked 50th in life expectancy. France and Canada ranked in the top 10. Cuba, Canada, England and France all have lower infant-mortality rates.

Of 19 leading industrialized countries, the United States ranked last in preventable deaths from treatable illnesses. France was best. If we treated our patients like the French, 100,000 more Americans would be alive annually. In addition, 100,000 Americans die annually of medical errors. Tragically, these 200,000 preventable deaths alone are equivalent to a 9/11 tragedy occurring every 5.4 days!

Do we not have a compact to protect all our citizens from harm? Diabetes, heart disease, stroke and the swine flu are also terrorists with the potential to kill millions of Americans every year.

We now spend over $630 billion annually on military defense. What about health-care defense? Would we accept a military that doesn't protect 47 million Americans? Why should we accept a health-care system that does just that?

Obama proposes revamping our health-care system to the tune of $90 billion a year over the next decade. That's only one-seventh of what we spend annually for military defense with the upside of saving countless lives. Military and health-care defense in tandem provide the greatest security.

Obama presents a bona fide free-market solution to the current crisis. It's called free-market competition. It's called the public option of which a majority of Americans favor. If Obama capitulates, it will be his Waterloo.

Interestingly, Medicare simulates free-market principles more so than the private sector. Any doctor can contract with Medicare. Private insurers close their panels, then exact a surcharge if a doctor is not in their network. Medicare allows doctors and patients to make decisions without meddlesome bureaucrats. Private insurers interpose in the doctor-patient relationship by mandating preauthorization for services.

Medicare spends less than 5 cents per dollar to administer the benefit. Private insurers spend upward of 400 percent more. More choice, less regulation and more efficiency is what you'll get with the public option.

Both the private and government-run systems do things well. Obama is taking a "best of" hybrid approach. Let's give him a chance.

Mike Newcomb, MD, is a geriatric and hospice physician. He also has a daily radio talk show on 1480 KPHX-AM from 3-6 p.m. Listen live at http://www.1480kphx.com/He can be reached at docmike@1480kphx.com.