Healthcare

Today Donald Trump, somehow the president of the currently are not so United States, figured out our healthcare system is complicated. He seemed rather put out by this fact. At this point I'm just surprised he didn't call it fake news and forget about it ten seconds later. It kills me to admit this, but it did get me thinking. What exactly would it take for our healthcare system to not be complicated.

From wikipedia.org

To start this journey of thought, let's start with you as a patient. You choose a healthcare facility based on your need. Making the assumption you are not about to die, you choose to go to the local general physician. You know the one I'm talking about. The doctor you have seen basically the entire time you have lived in this area and possibly your entire life. You go in, tell the doctor what symptoms you have, they poke and prod you a little, tell you what's wrong, and write a prescription. You leave the office and go get your meds for some pharmacy in the area. You go home take your meds and start to feel better. That seems to be the way of most ailments. What about that processes needs to be complicated? Nothing are far as I can tell.

Raising the stakes a little, you go to the emergency room because some dumbass didn't tell you there were peanuts in the salad until you already started munching on it. Not a problem for everyone, but for many people this is life or death. By the time you get to the E.R. you can't talk and barely even breath. The nurse sees your swollen face and blotches as soon as you walk in. This nures being awesome grabs an EpiPen and proceeds to stab you in the thigh with it. Then puts you on a gurney for the doctor to check out. The doctor, after thanking the nurse for a quick response, puts you on a benadryl IV. A few minutes later you are feeling rather sleepy, but much better. In an hour or two you are released. Where you then go straight home and remove the dumbass from your facebook friends list. What has to be complicated in the scenario? 

To raise the stakes even more, you just rapped your car around tree. With sheer willpower you manage to dial 911 from your cell. The police show up, calls an ambulance, and then proceeds to write you a ticket. Cause you know...laws and stuff. The rescue team pulls you from the care, and rushes you to the nearest E.R. With tremendous skill, the E.R. staff determines the obviously broken nose from the airbag is not as important as the gushing artery in your leg. You are rushed into surgery where your repaired and stitched up. While you are still out from the surgery, your nose is straightened out, shoved full of gauze, and taped into place. The next day you are released. Going back a few times for physical therapy and to have the stitches removed. At that point you go one with your life trying to be a much better driver. Is there anything complicated about that?

Walking into your normal yearly checkup with your general physician. Where of course you will be told to eat healthier, exercise more, and stop going to McDonald's every day for lunch. You happen to mention your throat has been kinda scratchy lately. The doctor with the coldest hands in the world starts to feel your around your neck. Notices an odd lump and orders up some test. You get poked, prodded, x-rayed, scanned from every direction, and generally violated in every orifice. You go home nervously awaiting the results and simply trying to recover some of your dignity. Phone rings, not good new, you have cancer. Guess you should not have smoked so much when you was younger. You head to the hospital where you are emitted for a shit ton of treatments that seem to make you feel worse. After a great deal of time, multiple surgeries, and enough radiation treatments to make the set off the radiation detectors at the borders. You finally get to go home where you immediately toss out all your junk food, and resolve to life a healthy life. Does that seem like it has to be complicated?

Doesn't it seem that without your medical insurance saying they don't cover this doctor, that hospital, these test, those treatments, and medications that you need all of this is pretty simple on your end? Doesn't it seem that without the sales people pushing doctors to prescribe certain medications they are more able to treat you for what ails you instead of filling you up with the new drug of the day? Doesn't it seem that government has had nothing to do with your health care?

The real question, what role does the government play in your health care? Well, with or without medical insurance you are left to pay for this yourself. Sure, medical insurance covers something and can make others cheaper. However, the time you have to take off work, plus the cost of the insurance, and the amount the insurance doesn't cover leaves you broke, broken, and basically fucked. With a long treatment for a harsh illness you might not even have a job (which was providing your insurance) when/if you recover. This seems to be the way a lot of people in this country want it. I don't. How can we make this better?

First, your doctor(s) should be the only people that can prescribe treatments and/or medications. Whereas it's only up to you, your immediate family if you are incapacitated, or your parents if you are a child responsibility to agree to treatment or not. Simple, with no bullshit.

Second, you have paid taxes all your life. How about we take this tax money and pay your bill. The doctors, hospitals, emergency response teams, and pharmacies simply send the bill to a local government office. The government office pays the bill from the national fund. Simple, with no bullshit.

Hey, look at that. Seems pretty simple after all. Yes, this kind of health cost coverage will make you have higher taxes. However, you will no longer have any cost of anything medical. No medical insurance cost, no cost for doctors, no cost to get treatments/medications, no cost to get picked up by an ambulance, no cost what so ever. Guess what, this will make it cheaper. Everyone that is working puts in a flat 5-10% (need number crunching to specify) of your gross income and your done. For most of the US this is be a whole lot cheaper once you add up every medical bill you would have for your entire life including insurance. Even including the care needed to make you more comfortable when you are at the end of your life. Thus allowing you to go peacefully and not suffer.

There is another added benefit. Since there is only one "insurance" then the government can negotiate way better prices than we get now. Because there is no one else to sell to. Just saying.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would have a problem with this. It's not like people are getting charged when the fire department comes and puts out a fire. So why are we charged outrageous amounts of money when an ambulance comes and saves your life?