Others say Let's dispel some myths

By KANSAS CITY STAR

Posted: July 31, 2009 at 5:16 a.m.

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LITTLE ROCK — No one said fixing health care in America would be easy.

Fortunately, reasonable people from different political camps agree on the pillars of reform: All Americans should have affordable access to care; costs must be controlled; and medicine must shift from a model that pays for procedures to one that rewards results.

As the debate wears on, however, a number of falsehoods stand in the way of achieving those goals. Here are a few:

-America has the best health care in the world. Why change?

Actually, the U.S. has the most expensive health care system on the planet, and outcomes here are inferior to those of nearly all other modern nations.

The death rate among newborns here is among the highest of industrialized nations. Americans are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes. A study that rated 19 relatively prosperous nations on their effectiveness in curbing deaths from preventable diseases put the United States at the very bottom.

-Americans have access to care now-even if they have to use the emergency room.

Emergency room access is not comprehensive health care. Staffs can't provide the follow-up care that will prevent a crisis from reoccurring. And the costs of treating the uninsured are passed along to everyone else.

-President Obama wants to deny Americans the right to choose the treatment that's best for them.

First of all, employers and insurers already separate patients from physicians and treatment options. Care already is "rationed." Any viable reform plan must set up a way to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments and procedures. In many cases, lower-cost treatments and medications work better than more expensive brands.

Citizens have a right to opt for more expensive options if they choose.

But it is unreasonable to expect the health care system to pay for a gold-plated procedure if a less expensive avenue is available.

-We can't afford to reform health care.

We can't afford not to.

Medical costs account for one-sixth of domestic spending and are headed upward. They are handcuffing families and workers, and strangling federal and state governments.

Editorial, Pages 14 on 07/31/2009

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