[Remember_Salamis]

Victor Davis Hanson is simply a great American. I've read 4 of his books and read everything of his I can get my hands on.

[traumer]

I have no cellphone, no cable TV, no pickup truck or SUV. That's a cliche....

I have an 11-year old reliable Honda and no health insurance. Now, where do I fit in your 'scheme' ?

[janetgreen]

Hanson is describing the situation that exists in almost every hospital emergency room in California. My family has had the same experiences. Needless to say, many of these facilities have been forced to close their doors.

We simply cannot afford to treat and medicate illegal aliens any longer, but there isn't a word said about it by our cowardly politicians.

[Agnes Heep]

Interesting points raised here. When government provides health care free of charge, poor people will elect to take the free service and spend their discretionary dollars in discretionary ways, on luxuries as opposed to necessities. I recall a "poor" family in my locality complaining about the Gingrich "cuts" in the school lunch program, stating to the local newspaper that they couldn't afford to give their children lunch without the program. Of course they never mentioned the sixty or so bucks a month they spent on cable TV.

[Tripleplay]

In some of America's most impoverished landscapes, our government at great cost and in the hallowed traditions of American humanity and magnanimity is offering hourly excellent medical care to literally anyone who walks through the emergency room door, whether they have a broken arm or a sprained ankle. That is how it should be

Why?????????????????????

A lot of other goods and services rely on individual behavior and legal status to determine price.

Why is the health care industry any different?

[snopercod]

...the hallowed traditions of American humanity and magnanimity

Well, not exactly. The federal government requires that anyone who shows up at an ER be treated, regardless of their ability to pay.

Not only do we taxpayers foot the bill for that service, but all those with insurance pay for it as well via higher premiums.

[Capriole]

I dunno. A friend of mine doesn't have health care because he is spending all his money and then some to pay for insurance for his little girl, who is in the physical custody of her mother. He was injured recently and learned that he has to have a $1500 MRI and subsequent surgery. He is walking around with a broken arm, nerve damage, and a rotator-cuff tear, all of which is terribly painful, because he is spending every spare nickel on child support and doesn't have the $1500 bucks. He's already getting dunning letters and threats of court action from the emergency room and ER physicians' group who treated him (or mis-treated him) when he was initially injured.

[IncPen]

Like you were saying, BartMan...

[mtbopfuyn]

At least the medical personnel at his hospital spoke and understood English. Heck, I'd even settle for Spanish since I live in TX, but when the only county hospital employs ME'ers who don't/won't speak English they're waiting for a lawsuit large enough to put the entire county into bankruptcy.

[Tinman]

What this article does not address is the situation my wife and I have been dealing with for the past several years. U.S. citizens who face medical emergencies without health insurance, not by choice but because coverage has been lost and/or denied, due to "pre-existing conditions".

In January 2001, I went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain (that I'd been "dealing with", off and on for 3-4 months). The result? Emergency surgery, 10 days in the hospital, and medical bills totaling almost $90,000. Then, being unable to work for three months. Bills had to go unpaid. Credit damaged.

Eleven months ago, my wife went to the emergency room with chest pain (which she had been "dealing with", for a year or so.) Result? Emergency (triple) by-pass surgery, two weeks in the hospital, over $300,000 in medical bills and 12 weeks of recuperation, unable to work.

We were just getting back on track, when at the end of October, she suffered a near fatal heart attack, while at work. Result? hospitalized for 10 days, a defib device implanted, and an additional $175,000 in bills. Job lost, credit ruined.

How are we handling all this? We get up every day and we do the best we can. I still have my wife. We still have our home. We are able to meet most of our " necessities". There's nothing left over. In time, we may be able to repair our credit and pay the doctors, who saved my wife's life.

Do I wish things were different? Of course I do. We live in a city (El Paso) where thousands access our medical facilities with no intention of ever paying a dime. At least my wife and I pay into the "system" and have for years.

We know there are thousands, or millions, who are worse off than we are. It just needs to be pointed out, not all people who don't pay their medical bills are freeloading deadbeats. Some simply cannot.

Regards

[eccentric]

The title, like most of the reporting, IS WRONG. Lack of health insurance does NOT mean no health care.

[Feckless]

I work in a small rural hospital and whether it's illegal immigrants or hometown white trash most of our ER visits could be handled at the local drug store. Instead of buying OTC meds they buy their smokes, premium beer, and lotto, then run up a $200 ER visit for $5 worth of drugs.

[usadave]

Cell-phones and new pick-ups—whether they are products of cheap Chinese labor or easy American credit—are nevertheless optional expenditures.

Or, as many of the illegal alien families do, it is the result of the father working off the books for cash while the mother and their six children make the rounds at the welfare/food stamp/WIC offices to scoop up all the freebies that they can. And because of the fact that many Latino illegal aliens have multiple IDs that they've purchased on the black market under different names, they can receive welfare/food stamp/WIC benefits under several different names.

[gracie1]

I know the hospital that VDH went to, my second son was born there. I go there for my care even though I work at a large hospital in Fresno, and my Dr's office is down the street. The scene he is describing fits the same scene I see whenever I go there for care.

Furthermore, we have an extensive network of rural health clinics in region that sees all patients who come in. I used to work at one a few years age. We saw everyone who came in for care, regardless of ability to pay. We had a sliding scale for cash paying patients.

The main problem we had was arranging for specialty care, especially neurosurgery. Those usually got referred to Fresno, or to Stanford.

[Mr. Silverback]

VDH article over here!

[Tolik]

Victor Davis Hanson on Health Care PING 

[please freepmail me if you want or don't want to be pinged to Victor Davis Hanson articles]

If you want to bookmark his articles discussed at FR: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/k-victordavishanson/browse

His NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

His blog: http://victorhanson.com/index.html     BIO: http://victorhanson.com/Author/index.html

Yes, he is listened by the Bush Administration; they like him maybe as much as we do: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085464/posts?page=6#6

[TopQuark]

VDH.

[AZLiberty]

The community health centers are a well-kept secret, but one that provides the healthcare safety net that everybody talks about. The Democrats don't publicize it because they want you to think there's a crisis in health care for the poor. The government doesn't publicize it because they don't want any more customers than they already have.

CHCs charge on a sliding scale. If you're indigent, you pay nothing. Anybody else is welcome, but they have to pay something.

Naturally, the CHCs are underfunded, but this is resulting in a high level of innovation. For example, the CHCs are leading the way in chronic disease management. While chronic disease accounts for 70-75% of healthcare costs in this country, most people are still treated according to the acute care model. The chronic disease is allowed to simmer, and when things get really bad the patient shows up at the ER -- at huge expense and at huge risk to the patient. The CHCs are beginning to employ a chronic care model, where at-risk patients are identified and "managed" aggressively using an approach that involves a large degree of self-management and strong coordination between members of the healthcare team. The goal is to keep the patient healthy, so as to prevent acute incidents, emergency visits, emergency surgery, and serious consequences to the patient.

The CHCs have found that it is in their economic interest to take a long-term view of their patients rather than a short-term view. Health insurers are more likely to focus on the short term because there's a high turnover in membership, due to job mobility and employers frequently switching carriers.

The health system is broken, but this little piece of socialism seems to be working -- as long as everybody doesn't find out about it, and as long as the rest of us are willing to pay for it.

[Capitalism2003]

Maybe if people didn't need to work literally 5-6 months out of the year to pay the massive federal state, & local taxes, along with hundreds of hidden taxes like those on gasoline (.73 per gallon average...in case ya didn't know), perhaps they would be able to afford insurance. I don't think most people realize the harm that the 35% corporate tax rate causes them, along with the massive regulation facing employers today. These are all hidden taxes. You know your FICA 7.5% "contribution" to social insecurity? Your employer matches that 'contribution' by taking 7.5% off the top of what you REALLY earn. Imagine if the corporate income tax were abolished, along with the need for them to match your "contribution". In addition to creating a massive economic boom, every employee would get an INSTANT 42.5% raise!!! How would that help with the bills?

If people really knew what government was costing them, I have no doubt we would see a tax revolt in this country, even among those on the left. If government at all levels would stop taking half (or more) of what people earn, perhaps they could afford their insurance premiums.

Just a thought.

[hershey]

Agreed, V.D. Hanson is a national treasure.