Healthcare in America -- An Additional Thought

The President is going to speak this evening, so maybe this should wait. Then again, why be chicken? Let me share now.

It's about the single payer system for national health care. Maybe it deserves a second look.
We know health care costs vary all over the country. We also know that "outcomes" often seem to vary inversely with the cost of the healthcare. And, finally, we know that the very system is distorted when primary care physicians are diminishing in numbers because it's the least remunerative kind of medicine to practice despite being perhaps the most important kind for the nation.

Maybe a single payer could tackle this situation, better than any other kind of a structure. But, before buying into this argument, let's consider the negatives.

1. Medicare hasn't been able to do much to keep down costs. But, then, maybe, though it's big, it isn't as comprehensive as a single payer system might be.

2. Every system has someone on top. Corporations have CEO's. Government entities have Congressional committees. These committees haven't done too well. Committees headed by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd had no clue that the country was headed into a financial tailspin despite the fact that they headed important financial oversight committees. And, let's not gloss over the abysmal performance of the SEC in failing to uncover Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme years earlier even after people came to them with evidence in hand.

Who is the poor taxpayer to trust? Congress? The administration? We're in a really scary situation.