By Henry Kahn, M.D.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 18, 2022
In a country spending so much on health care, how could it be that Georgia is closing essential hospitals? Other wealthy countries spend less than half what we do per capita but provide comprehensive care to everybody with better health outcomes. Healthcare coverage in Georgia, often requiring large deductibles and co-payments, is available for less than 87% of our people.
Where do our health-care dollars go? During my career, doctors I trusted and admired were regularly frustrated by hostile interactions with investor-driven private insurance plans. They resented the marketing tactics of companies charging outrageous prices for drugs and fancy equipment. Caring physicians suffered (call it professional “burnout”) when their patients were denied the necessary health interventions.
Health care should not be a business. Too many of our health-care dollars go into unjustifiable profits for private insurance, pharmaceutical and equipment corporations. To stem the disappearance of health-care dollars – and the hospital closures – we’ll need a simplified system of universal, comprehensive healthcare coverage supported by progressive taxation.