Myths, maxims and universal health care

There is considerable indirect evidence that our legislative bodies, because of inability to control costs, are reluctant to further expand government responsibilities into health care. There continues to be general societal, and limited professional, pressure to assure access to health care for the large segment of society which presently encounters barriers to care because of lack of insurance. Congress and state legislatures are actively proposing health care legislation but on the whole it is aimed at reducing the cost of the programs to which government is already committed, not for expansion into new fields. However, providers, physicians and hospitals are begging for relief from the burden of uncompensated care. A suggested solution is to require all employers to provide health insurance for their employees. This may become impossibly burdensome for many small employers and could still leave a sizeable uninsured group of unemployed or underemployed. Tax revenues would still be needed to fund a government administered program to assure their access. We have a problem. We must devise a method to assure needed care for the 13% to 15% of our population which is presently uninsured. It must be accomplished in a manner that will not direct too much money from other socially important programs such as education, law enforcement, transportation, and environmental preservation. A solution will be found; however, if my evaluation is correct, neither patients nor physicians are going to be very happy with it. If the myths and maxims are valid, both groups will be disappointed. Rationing in some form will be inevitable as will be control and regulation of doctors' practice styles and fees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)