Death, Taxes And Healthcare

Written by Fabian Egbesu Ohore Saturday, 31 July 2010 18:26

A definition is a passage that explains the meaning of a term, a word, a phrase or a set of symbols. By setting a standard or defining a position you leave no room for error. This is why definitions are extremely important in our daily lives. It is with this belief that we will now define health care and his often mistaken brother medical care. Healthcare is the preventative actions, thoughts and behavior of individuals to improve their overall health. By decreasing homicide, alcoholism, smoking and other unhealthy or risky vices in combination with an increase in exercise, the consumption of fresh foods, increased rest we will see a definite improvement in the overall health of any individual or society. As we can see a medical doctor cannot force an individual or a nation to partake in such actions. Medical care on the other hand is the remedial action by doctors and medical staff in which they use medical tools to alleviate a certain medical condition. This paper will explain to the reader the danger of political rhetoric when it comes to the “healthcare” debate , this paper will also show how after receiving an MPA the writer of this paper will use his degree to implement practical solutions towards reducing the overall cost of medical insurance and improving the overall health of any society. Before the implementation of any action to reduce healthcare costs we must learn to separate the politics from the economics. Many politicians jump on the rhetoric of free health care for all but many seem to forget that there is no such thing as free lunch. The overwhelming cost to provide “health care” to all Americans is largely ignored in the health care debate. If we were to look at the immediate source of funding to pay for such a scheme we would run straight into a tax increase. The problem with an increase in tax is a simple one to explain. Take for example the college student who graduates from college, after graduating this student goes on for a graduate degree and a PhD. This student can now get a high income job so on paper the six figure income tells us that this person is rich. But we quickly forget that college is not free this person has a high amount of debt. This person will want a house (mortgage= more debt) and since they don’t have kids they don’t have a tax write off. This persons increasing debt load with interest is not considered when many politicians or government officials look at their income. That is one of the reasons we as citizens have a duty to be more prudent when accepting political rhetoric regarding economic issues. The first thing a government must do in order to improve health care is to champion health obesity reduction programs. By encouraging a healthier population less people will have less medical issues, Thereby reducing medical costs. One way of reducing obesity would be to give tax incentives to companies that allow exercise breaks in addition with lunch breaks. To ensure maximum participation the government should increase the taxes of those corporations that do not participate. Another way to reduce obesity would be to direct more funding towards after school programs that specialize in reducing childhood obesity. One of the most efficient ways to reduce medical care costs would be to reduce the high costs of malpractice insurance for hospitals and doctors. The fees to cover the insurance premiums are so high that doctors already saddled with medical school debt have no choice but to pass the expense onto the consumer. One way we can reduce this cost is by issuing a government mandate that allows doctors to purchase malpractice insurance across state lines. Similarly a program that also allows consumers to purchase medical insurance across state lines, would greatly enhance competition and reduce prices overall. One of the main problems facing the medical care/ health care debate is the fact that it ties into a greater social dilemma. Imagine the child in Soundview projects in the Bronx whose play ground is where narcotics are bought and sold. This child has no choice but to stay in the in the house due to her safety. So the only place for proper exercise would be in an underfunded and overcrowded school gym. If you walk into this child’s grocery store you will not see fresh foods only processed cakes and soft drinks filled with sugar, sodium and high fructose corn syrup. By living under these circumstances for 25 years there is no doubt that this child will not grow up having a high susceptibility to medical ailments. If we are to provide Health care and Medical care for all Americans at an affordable rate we will have to dig deeper into fixing the social issues that cause the high costs of medical care and health care. As the saying goes an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.