Symbolism

This image was sent in by contributor Dan McGrath, an Ohio conservative who, like most bloggers who've posted it so far, envisions it as an image of what will happen if "socialism" is voted in by Congress. Medicine will get screwed up.

Ruth, a former registered nurse, thinks health care "American-style" already is screwed up... So badly, in fact, that when we first met in 1995 she was ready to walk away from medicine entirely. Financial pressures on hospitals had reduced staffing levels to the point she felt she couldn't adequately care for the increased number of patients for which she was nominally responsible over a 12 hour shift.

Tom knows about costs. He got an MBA with a concentration in health care. In the field since 1975, he currently serves as CEO at a non-profit regional medical center. He knows he must ask his employees to work very hard, so recruiting people who will (while working well together) is of prime importance.

He'll concede improving technology is a never-ending expense as the "state of the art" advances, but the cost trend he found most alarming in a 2003 interview was the rapidly rising price of drugs. He was skeptical of changes reducing costs, too... And pointed to repeated failures of planning to meet that objective.

In a more recent email exchange, Tom expressed opposition to a Canadian-style "single payer" insurance system. Because while the federal government was his largest source of revenue, Medicare & Medicaid only reimbursed his facility for 70% of cost.

Steve is among the casualties... Being on the losing end of a car-pedestrian accident landed him in the hospital for 15 weeks. His Fortune 100 company, had dropped the most comprehensive health care option it had offered in prior years, and the best plan available (2/3 company contribution, 1/3 payroll deduction) guaranteed the company's entire workforce would be "underinsured," and left him with staggering out of pocket costs... Had the insurance carrier actually paid anything.

When the company administering Steve's short-term disability was unable to extract information from a care provider within a "timely" period, they disallowed the disability, and the main insurer rescinded coverage retroactively. Steve was wiped out, "medically bankrupt."

Now crippled & permanently disabled, Steve is a "thousandaire" at best, who could be wiped out again with less than a 5 day hospital stay. He's generally in favor of change, but thinks opposition forces have the money and political momentum to prevent it during his life.