Having read the brief diary by edg regarding his mother's health care situation, I think it's as important as ever that we take the time to focus on the real and relevant benefits that a universal single-payer medical system will provide us. And one of those benefits, which I'll discuss briefly, is that single-payer health care (SPHC) can quite likely save social security, while simultaneously adding billions of dollars back into the economy.
It's obvious to everyone that there is something broken with Social Security. And I'm not just talking about the obvious. Sure, we raid the fund to cover deficits, and then fail to pay it back. Absolutely, the Republicans wage a year-in and year-out war against the social safety net programs of all stripes. Yes, they're raising the retirement rate, and no, they aren't pegging payments to REAL inflation.
But look away from the big picture, and there is a more immediate problem. And that problem is that Social Security is not providing seniors with the financial resources they need in order to maintain quality lives. Here is a quote from the 6/16 USA Today:
From 1991 to 2007, the rate of personal bankruptcy filings among those ages 65 or older jumped by 150%, according to AARP, which will release the new research from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. The most startling rise occurred among those ages 75 to 84, whose rate soared 433%.
The study did not address the specific reasons behind the trend. But experts say medical bills have played a major role in the debt that has forced many elderly Americans into bankruptcy proceedings.
"Health care is a big issue for the elderly," says George Gaberlavage, director of consumer and state affairs at the AARP Public Policy Institute. "And out-of-pocket expenses have been going up."
The bankruptcy rate among seniors is rising at an alarming rate, and one of the biggest reasons for that is senior medical expenses. Everyone has heard the snopes-like anecdote of the Social Security senior, forced to choose between critical medication and their daily ration of cat food, but beyond the hyperbole is a real trend towards poverty, spurred on by rising medical costs that increasingly trap seniors. In the days of dwindling and abandoned pensions and retirement healthcare plans, the out-of-pocket medical costs for seniors are skyrocketing with the rest of us. Along with that, seniors are often forced to settle for sub-par care, that's just enough to get by, rather than care that truly maintains their quality of life.
SPHC is the obvious answer. But let's really talk about the benefits in ways that people understand. SPHC frees a significant portion of the Social Security payments that seniors receive from the burden of medical expense. The effect on Social Security is that health care, often a significant inflation index, can be removed from the payment adjustment equation, which keeps payments steadier year-over-year. This stretches the available SS resources.
But there are more benefits:
- SPHC increases quality of life, which also increases the length of time that seniors can safely work. Healthier seniors are better able to supplement their SS payments with steady work if need be.
- SPHC allows billions of Social Security dollars to feed into the economy. Seniors are forced to spend on healthcare what they could be spending on additional quality of life items: more and better food, housing, and even luxury items.
SO now, besides the obvious pure medical advantages that SPHC provides to EVERYONE, it als provides our mothers and grandparents with better, longer, more productive lives, stretches the value of each social security dollar, and provides significant stimulation to the economy, all while LOWERING overall US spending on health care by increasing efficiency and economy of scale while decreasing profit targets?
I'm sold. The question now is, why isn't everyone?