Universal healthcare needed, experts say
Amy Gromek
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News
|
Robert Coulam, assistant healthcare professor at Simmons College, said U.S. citizens pay more for healthcare than any other industrialized country but do not benefit enough from it, adding they pay more than enough to have a universal healthcare program.
"It's hard to argue we pay more but get more care -- we don't," Coulam said. "We don't get more hospital beds, nurses, CT scanners or physician visits per person in the United States. We consume fewer real health resources, even though we pay more."
John Walsh, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said 46 million Americans are uninsured and 18,314 adults died last year because they were uninsured. Walsh said the United States could learn about the benefits of comprehensive medical care from studying Canada's system, in which universal healthcare provides coverage for all "necessary" prescription drugs and services.
"We have a highly profitable and not very functional healthcare system," he said. "We are already spending enough money to do it, so we might as well cover everybody. We already pay in taxes what it takes to provide us with a national healthcare system."
Valerie Leiter, professor of sociology at Simmons, said income, race and gender contribute to to the amount of care patients receive.
"Social determinants shape our health experiences along powerful pathways," Leiter said. "Health insurance is one of these pathways because it determines access to care. Universal healthcare could be a solution."
Catherine DeLorey, director of Women's Universal Health Initiative, said healthcare should not be exclusive in the United States.
"From this panel, I see the underlying message that equitable health is a human right," DeLorey said. "This is a social justice issue. The United States is denying rights to particular members of society."
Physician Jocelyne Caplow, an audience member, said she became disappointed with U.S. healthcare services after moving from France.
"I was a little surprised when I saw how insurance is working here," Caplow said. "I am discouraged by the off-balance between the rich and the poor."
Arlene Ash, professor of general internal medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, said a growing problem is not how the country collects money for healthcare, but how it allocates money in a fair and efficient manner.
"The question is not to say some way of spending money is a bad or good way," Ash said. "It is not a matter of angels and devils. We need to focus on finding out how to spend money well so people get appropriate care."
