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Dr. Elaina George, a prominent otolaryngologist in Atlanta, has a bone to pick with President Obama. During various health care town hall meetings and press conferences, the president has vilified doctors as the cause of the high cost of health care. But Dr. George doesn't agree.
As one of the few black doctors in America who is taking the time to speak out in the current healthcare debate, Dr. George says that the culprits behind the high cost of healthcare are The American Medical Association, hospitals, big pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies. Here is how she breaks it down.
1) Our country has gotten away from preventing illness and is instead engaged in the high cost of managing disease. Dr. George explains in the interview below that rather than actually curing illnesses or preventing them, we simply try to manage them. Her argument, in agreement with many others in the health care profession, is that this attitude is driven by the fact that pharmaceutical and insurance companies only maximize profits when people stay sick. Symptoms tend to be treated instead of the underlying cause of the illness, making problems worse in the long-term and care more expensive.
For the second year in a row, Minnesota tops the list of healthiest states.
The North Star State boasts the highest percentage of adults who exercise, as well as the third-lowest infant mortality rate and third highest percentage of the population covered by health insurance.
20 Healthiest States for 2009
No. 1: Minnesota
For the second year in a row, Minnesota tops the list of healthiest states.
The North Star State boasts the highest percentage of adults who exercise, as well as the third-lowest infant mortality rate and third highest percentage of the population covered by health insurance.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
No. 2: Massachusetts
Massachusetts moved up three places this year to become the second healthiest state.
Bay Staters know the value of health insurance -- the state has the highest percentage of children covered by health insurance, and the second highest percentage of all citizens covered by insurance.
Getty Images
No. 3: Hawaii
Hawaii moved up to third place from its eighth place ranking last year. That's a whopping five place improvement.
The Aloha State has the lowest death rate and the highest seat belt usage, and is tied with Massachusetts for the second highest population percentage covered by health insurance.
Getty Images
No. 4: Iowa
Iowa moved into fourth place from its sixth place rank last year.
Hawkeye Staters take good care of their children. The state boasts a low infant mortality rate and a high percentage of children covered by health insurance.
Charlie Neibergall, AP
No. 5: New Hampshire
Though New Hampshire remains in the top ten this year, the state actually moved down three places from last year's second place rank.
The Granite State has the lowest teenage birth rate and the lowest sexually transmitted disease rate. The state also has the second highest percentage of fully immunized children ages 19 to 35 months.
Getty Images
No. 6: Vermont
Like New Hampshire, Vermont also moved down three places, from its third place ranking last year.
The Green Mountain State boasts the second-lowest teenage birth and sexually transmitted disease rates, as well as the third-lowest percentage of the population lacking access to primary care.
Corbis
No. 7: Utah
Utah moved into the top ten this year from its No. 12 spot in 2008.
The Beehive State has the lowest infant mortality rate, as well as the lowest death rate by malignant neoplasms, and the lowest rate of new cancer cases.
Jose Azel, Aurora/Getty Images
No. 8: Maine
Maine moved down four places from its No. 4 rank in 2008.
The Pine Tree State has the third-lowest sexually transmitted disease rate and also scores low in teenage birth rate, as well as in percentage of births with a low birth weight.
Carl D. Walsh, Aurora / Getty Images
No. 9: Connecticut
Connecticut slid into the top ten this year from its eleventh place rank last year.
The Constitution State boasts a low death rate and a low suicide rate. Connecticut also has a low percentage of smoking adults.
jupiterimages
No. 10: Nebraska
Nebraska is barely holding onto its top ten spot, moving down from last year's seventh place rank.
The Cornhusker State scores high in the rate of beds in community hospitals and low in its percentage of population lacking access to primary care.
Spencer Platt, Getty Images
2) According to some physicians, the public option on health care may not be as great as it sounds. When it comes to the public option (which is being heavily debated right now), Dr. George argues that while the option may provide health coverage for many Americans who don't have it, it may not cause insurance companies to pay their fair share of the cost of health care reform. "The argument that the public option will drive down costs is disingenuous," says Dr. George. "How can a program designed to cover about 10 million people (as per the Congressional Budget Office) really exert any pressure on the health insurance industry when a company like Blue Cross and Blue Shield has over 30 million members and UnitedHealthcare is even larger?"
3) Have hospitals been let off the hook? Dr. George further argues that the high cost of health care is, in large part, due to extraordinarily high hospital fees. Personally, I've always wondered why an ambulance ride can cost as much as $1,000 or why a 20-minute consultation can lead to a bill of several hundred bucks. "Hospitals have been given a pass," she says. "There has been no discussion on cutting the costs associated with hospital care. I have performed surgeries where the hospital was paid 20-30 times what I have been paid. Is that fair?"
Dr. George, in the interview below, uses the example of a standard foot amputation to make her point. To my surprise, she says that a doctor is only paid between $400 and $700 to perform the procedure, although the patient can be charged as much as $30,000. Dr. George argues that the additional costs come directly from the hospital for nursing care, pills, anesthesia, physical therapy, etc.
Below is the interview between Delores Jones and Dr. Elaina George, as they break down the problems in our healthcare system. Click the image below to listen to the interview.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Distinguished Scholar with the Barbara Jordan Institute for Policy Research at Texas Southern University. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered directly to your e-mail, please click here.
Comments: (4)
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By: nyc5055 on 8/23/2009 8:53PM
I don't think the doctors are the reason for the high cost, I think it's the insurance the doctors need nowadays.Insurance for doctors are very high.If a doctor sees an accident he's afraid to help because the people he helps will sue him or her.It's in the news everyday "doctor gets sued after saving man" Now their insurance is so high they have no choice but to pass it on in my opinion.Also,medicine.The medicine companies charge so much for medicine lots of people die because they can't afford their meds.
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By: demillicent on 8/25/2009 9:47PM
I wouldn't blame the doctors wholly. But some of them are due some of the blame for dispensing medications to patients just because the pharmaceutical companies are giving them kick backs. Many times some doctors say they know nothing about the medication. They simply give the dosage that the pharmaceutical companies tell them is appropriate. That's scary.
But I put the bulk of the blame on the greedy insurance companies who routinely deny patients who are their clients lifesaving procedures in order to pay their execs billions of dollars.
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By: jdf on 8/27/2009 9:50AM
Take a look at the income of the hospital CEO's and insurance company CEO's. Cosidering the average salary for someone in primary care in $150,000, where does it look like the money is going. Physicians can't prescribe dietician management, agressive exercise for obese patients but insurance companies will jump at the hat to cover gastric bypass surgery. What gives????
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By: Georgia Payton on 8/30/2009 12:04PM
I think we can be saved via: sales of marijuana...if all the profit goes to H.E.W.I think we can count on at least 1,000,000 people purchasing weed at 10 or 20 dollars each month.
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