I wrote an essay the other evening about my take on medical care reform. I got a few positive comments, and hardly any negative ones. I wrote it to pique (please pardon me for using one of my favorite words) criticism, but was way too confident in what I said.
I was WRONG. The medical care situation is much more dire than either side in DC would have us know, and I will tell you why. I will also tell you that, unless someone much smarter than I am can come up with a solution, our system will collapse soon, and that is not an empty threat.
For the record, I actually support the single payer option. That is not good enough. After looking at the numbers, that will not be much help. Nothing will be of much help.
Here is the problem. The last 18 months of life for adults account for, after correcting for a few aberrations, almost 80% of the cost of medical care in this nation. Most of those folks are retired, so do not contribute anything in the way as money goes, into the fund that treats them.