Posted on 05/16/2006 3:55:06 AM PDT by SheLion
Day one of GTC week began with the "C-Level Summit" at a downtown Sacramento hotel. State CIO Clark Kelso set the tone by outlining a few "global population demographics and their approaching impact on government and society," while preparing the audience for the keynote by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson.
We are growing older as a population, Said Kelso, and that trend will continue through the 21st Century. "The number of people over 65 will more than double by mid century, and the number of those over 85 will quadruple." As a result, he said, society and government will focus more on aging, healthcare, transportation and mobility. And just as IT remade financial services, healthcare is poised for a similar transformation.
Tommy Thompson
Thompson -- four-term governor of Wisconsin and former federal secretary of Health and Human Services -- is now chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and a partner at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is a huge responsibility, began Thompson. Its budget of $600 billion is larger than Defense -- 23 cents out of every dollar goes to HHS vs. 18 cents to Defense. However, he said, the federal government is paralyzed with the status quo, and if health care is to be solved, states will need to be involved.
As governor of Wisconsin, said Thompson, he would wake up with good ideas, and had some chance of implementing them. In Washington, ideas had to be vetted through thousands of people. "And then OMB turns you down nine time out of ten just to show you who is boss." After that the idea goes to more people, to the president and then to Congress.
Even though American health care is the best in the world, said Thompson, he predicts the health care system will collapse about 2013. "The first reason is that we spend about 16 percent of our GDP on health care, while other countries spend from four to 11 percent. Japan spends 7 percent. We spend a lot more than any other country." And, he said, by 2013 we'll double the expenditures; from $2 trillion to $4 trillion -- from 16 percent of GDP to 20 percent of GDP.
General Motors has the largest private health care system in the world, said Thompson. "For every car they sell, they put $1,525 into their health care system for employees -- more than the cost of the steel in their automobiles." In comparison, said Thompson, Toyota spends $225 per car for health care. And GM's share of the auto market has slipped from 52 percent down to below 25 percent.
The second problem with health care, he said, is that companies of 50 or fewer employees are getting out of the health care business, which shifts the burden to state and other private-pay employees.
And Medicare will deplete its surplus by 2013 and start going broke, said Thompson.
Thompson went into some detail as to where health care funds go, and what can be done about it. Seventy-five percent of the $2 trillion goes for chronic illnesses, and 125 million people have one or more chronic illnesses, some of which are preventable. Nearly half a million Americans are afflicted with tobacco-related illnesses, for example, and a smoker's lifespan is reduced 14.5 years on average.
Thompson advocates a $1 tax on every pack of cigarettes sold, to be put into a fund for smokers to quit smoking.
Twenty-one million Americans have diabetes and another 14 million are pre diabetic, said Thompson. A five-10 percent loss of excess weight can reduce certain types of diabetes by up to 40 percent. "There's no law in America that says you have to eat everything on your plate," said Thompson to the post-luncheon assembly, "no matter what your mother said." Americans -- at 3,774 calories per day -- are at the top of caloric intake. And Americans consume 158 pounds of sugar per year. Mexico is second at 110 pounds.
Technology
Health care could use more information technology, said Thompson. "Ninety-eight thousand people died last year from medical mistakes, half of which were the wrong medications at the wrong time in the wrong amounts to the wrong people."
An electronic medical record could cut those mistakes significantly said Thompson. "In St. Petersburg, Russia, I ran out of money. I went to the ATM and got money and the account record from my bank in Elroy, Wisconsin. But if you had a stroke here and were taken to the hospital, it would probably take days to find out your name, your allergies, illnesses and other medical information."
Thomson displayed a card which he said has 100 pages of his medical history on it. "The technology is there, we should have it. So if you do have an accident or a stroke, the hospital could load your card, and take care of you."
Thompson also discussed the 45 million Americans without health insurance. When they get care, the public pays, and since they are uninsured, they often go to the emergency room, the most expensive of all. Thompson advocated preventive care and state-driven health insurance for all. "We require everyone to have auto insurance, why not health insurance? instead of a drag on the economy, it would be a stimulus."
GTC continues today, with preconference workshops and seminars. On Wednesday "Coach Carter" and Gov. Schwarzenegger will present.
Well, the solution is simple.
SPEND MORE MONEY!!< /GOP THINK>
We are looking at the implementation of a centralized medical program to allocate resources.
Note the push toward electronic records, which btw, everyone disliked when it was first proposed under Clinton. The allocation of resources will also mean less medical care for the very elderly and the very frail.
We have a disproportionate amount of care going to the very elderly whose only illness is age. I have seen the old given upwards of 12 to 20 meds a day to keep them alive.
We have a big population that is getting bigger and while private insurance seems to work well, it is Medicare that is the huge problem so the government will fire a nuke at a problem that requires a shotgun and create universal healthcare.
Of course, our Congresscritters will always have access to private care. Our elites will always find a way to exempt themselves. They are, after all, elite. And I am not...
You do know that if you twitiched your nose and every illegal alien disappeared, that the health care system would still be in crisis, but it so easy to scapegoat ethnic groups, instead of preofessions such as the trial lawyers who actually help mess up the health care system.
BTW, Tommy Thompson, was also silent about the trial lawyers.
Wow, you made sense!!
HOW DARE YOU CRITICIZE TOMMY THOMPSON! YOU'RE CRITICIZING BUSH BY EXTENSION!
It's important to know that this cruel rationing of care is entirely due to the socialization of medicine. Rationing does not occur in a free market. But we've made ourselves dependent on government health care and now the price will be paid. What they give us, they can take away. And they will, they will. Count on it.
"And Medicare will deplete its surplus by 2013 and start going broke, said Thompson."
All that Medicare goes to working tax paying citizens right? I'd like everyone to see my matching employer SS & Medicare tax deposit I made yesterday. I'm sick of this sh*t!
"There's no law in America that says you have to eat everything on your plate,"
I am surprised that there is no law about this. It would be you are only lawful to eat like a bird. I swear when I read this I wanted to use my potty mouth so bad, but I decided why bother. He doesn't care. I can't stand hearing about this. In fact, I am going to Burger King tonight for a whopper. In the military we are forced to be a certain weight and I accepted that when I volunteered to join. However, I think that the population should not be harassed by media invention everyday. We only started hearing about this nonsence when the government went to a different way of deciding how fat we are. Notice as soon as we began the BMI, everyone was suddenly fat. They said even President Bush is overweight so I don't buy all this and if we are that bad off medically why are illegals getting free care. Don't buy this. This is another "Media Invention." They seem to be real good at it.
Fat: SECONDHAND FAT KILLS! . . . It's more deadly than smoke
They don't care about us! Like I keep saying: they promise us the moon to get our votes and once in office, all they give us is the outhouse. I'm sick of it.
Millions of illegals...hmm, now I get it. That's what GW and the other movers and shakers think will prop up old folks, pay Social security, medicare, etc.. Once they get the vote we're all set. And to think I was upset about being invaded by millions. Who knew? Got to hand it to those clever wonks in DC.
Good old Tommy T; once a RINO always a RINO.(And yet some here from WI, will tell you what a great leader he was.)
Millions of illegals...hmm, now I get it. That's what GW and the other movers and shakers think will prop up old folks, pay Social security, medicare, etc.. Once they get the vote we're all set. And to think I was upset about being invaded by millions. Who knew? Got to hand it to those clever wonks in DC.
Of course! The illegals seek health care and guess who gets stuck with the bill?
Last year, (here's a good one), the Mayor of Detroit was interviewed. The Detroit hospital delivers hundreds of Muslim baby's a year. The pregnant women come over, stay with relatives until time of delivery. They deliver their babies, free of charge, and go back to the ME. But guess who gets stuck with that bill? You guessed it! WE do.
The Mayor was ask what can be done about this. He looked like a deer in bright lights. He has no idea how to put a stop to this.
The trail lawyers are a big issue
10-20 million UNINSURED illegal aliens in our ER's is a bigger issue
Yes. It's mind boggling, isn't it!
That is done more for citizenship then free healthcare.
Illegal immigrants are 95 percent young people. They come here to work a unskilled and heavy labor jobs old people can't do. They don't get much heath care except the birth of children.
In a very short time we will have less than 2 people paying into Medicare and Social Security funds for every person drawing benefits.
There are just two realistic solutions.
But first let me list the unrealistic ones. Deflate the currency so money is worth nothing while keeping the benefits at the same dollar value. That way your social security check might just buy 2 aspirin. And five years worth of Medicare benefits would get one office visit but no treatment from a doctor.
The other unrealistic solution is to cut all benefits to 1/10th of what they are today. Then there would be old people starving and dieing on the street. It will be OK for them to die, but not where young people can see them.
As far as practical solutions there are two. Have the supreme court declare that old people are too senile to vote. A socialist court should be able to get that done. Then pass an euthanasia law so old people are just put to sleep with a needle at about 65 years and 3 months.
The other practical solution is to import enough workers so there are at least 10 people paying for each person drawing social security and getting medicare benefits.
Both Europe and the USA have adopted the import workers solution. In Europe they are importing Muslims. In the USA we are importing Mexican workers.
Think what happens if you are able to stop the importation of Mexican workers. You can have the satisfaction of thinking when they put you to death at an early age, that at least no Damn Mexican will dig your grave and bury your body.
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