I had a call from a relative yesterday suggesting that I use my friendship with a high-ranking democrat to have my name submitted to President Obama to be on his health care advisory team. I said. "Thank you for your belief that I could make a difference, but it would not be something I would do well."
I explained that I believed the only way we could have an adequate health plan in this country is to get rid of the health insurance industry, the health care lobbyists, and to regulate the drug companies. With the rich, conservative group in this country who are very invested in these huge industries, I don't see this as happening. In a June 19th letter to the editor of the New York Times, David Balto pointed out that "Between 2000 and 2007, the ten largest publicly traded insurance companies increased their profits 428 percent, from $2.4 billion to $12.9 billion." With this kind of profit, the insurance companies wield tremendous political influence.
A single payer health plan that would allow doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to negotiate their own fees would save a tremendous amount of money. How can this happen when greed seems to be the dominant force in so many companies and people's lives today? Medical students are choosing high income specialties rather than primary care, internal medicine, and pediatrics. These are the least lucrative of the medical specialties. A surgeon can make more in a day than I could make in a month caring for children with disabilites or even when I practiced general pediatrics. There have to be some answers, but regulation of the lucrative health insurance and drug industries must be the first step.
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