While the four speakers at the April 18 forum on universal health care disagreed on how to put theory into practice, they unanimously agreed that our nation’s present system must be changed.
“About 18,000 people die each year because they lack health care. This is intolerable,” said keynote speaker Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, associate professor of medicine from Harvard University. “We have a moral imperative to do something about our present health care system.”
The forum, sponsored by the Millsaps Else School of Management and The Bower Foundation, featured Woolhandler and three panelists, who gave their perspective on the current system.
Andy Taggart, a Madison-based attorney who has played an extensive role in governmental and political arenas, agreed with Woolhandler as to the need for change, yet doesn't believe the answer lies in a single payer system -- particularly government. "I truly believe that no matter how bad things are Congress can always make it worse.
“Hardly any thinking person disagrees with the notion that we must find a responsible way to provide health care to all people in our society. But the taxpayer mechanism is not the best approach to this problem. I am skeptical this approach will actually solve the problem, as there is no inkling of bipartisanship in it.”
Woodlhandler referred to the health care system in Canada as a possible model for the U.S. She pointed to the huge overhead of insurance companies as one area of overspending. “Thirty-one cents of every health care dollar is spent on billing and paperwork. Having a single payer system would eliminate the need for this overhead. Also, the average doctor spends 13 percent of his week doing financial paperwork. If less billing was required, more time could be spent taking care of patients.”
Kurt Metzner, President and CEO of Mississippi Baptist Health Systems, and Dan Jones, M.D., vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at UMC, were also panelists at the forum that took place on the Millsaps campus.
“I echo Stephanie (Woolhandler) that we do have a moral obligation to do something about our health care system. This is the most complicated issue for our country that we have to deal with. Our current system is not sustainable,” said Jones.
Metzner added, “The math does work. But how we get from here to there is the problem. There is not a political reality that will embrace what Dr. Woolhandler has presented here today."
