Health care myths debunked

With major elections approaching in November, Republicans and Democrats have begun talking about the health care reform enacted by the Democratic majority. Some parade the bill as a huge success; others note the confusion and suspicion that surrounds it.

Whether it’s because of its confusion, length or technical language, rumors have been circulating about the recently passed health care act.

“I just know there’s a lot of taxing issues,” junior Ania Tondel said. “I don’t want our health care systems to be like those in Europe.”

In light of the current government deficit, the question of who is going to pay for the government sponsored health programs is an uncertainty on many taxpayers’ minds.

“The money is my biggest concern,” junior Malgosia Rada said. “I just hate taxes in general, and I’ve heard they’ll tax us for it.”

Both said that they had heard most of what they knew about the reform bill from their peers, and they still don’t know very much about it.

“I know that in Poland you can’t choose your doctor because of nationalized health care. I don’t want that here,” Tondel said.

Rada agreed solemnly. “Nationalized health care is just stupid,” she said.
Several news sources have asked the American public what they have heard about the reform bill. Bloomington residents’ answers are similar to those reported by other cities.
Eric Wright, the division director for Health Policy and Management at the IU School of Medicine, discussed some of the major reform myths.
The first commonly reported belief was that the bill mandates or encourages euthanasia.
“That was a myth that was started when Sarah Palin used the term ‘death panels,’” Wright said.

Wright said that the original bill included a provision that would compensate
physicians for counseling their patients about end-of-life choices; such as “do not resuscitate.”

Because of the controversy surrounding the term “death panels,” this provision was edited from the bill and no longer exists, Wright said. Another myth is people will lose their private insurance with the new bill.

“Most Americans will probably see no change in their type of insurance,” Wright said.
 
State governments will now offer insurance through the government, but private insurers will still do the majority of health care financing, Wright said.

There are also concerns about the money involved. Most people know that the American deficit is staggering, and many believe that health care reform will increase it.
 But Wright said that the government is trying to put cost controls in place.
In the short-term, he said the deficit may increase. In around ten years, however, the additional deficit created by the bill would disappear, Wright said.

“The government is not going to run health care,” Wright said. “The government is going to help with financing.”

The topic of health care has been coming up since about 1812, Wright said, and every time opponents have used the term “socialized medicine” as a scare tactic.

“Governments try to make more efficient systems for financing,” Wright said.

In completely socialized health care, the government would have control of all doctors, medical facilities and health insurance providers — which is simply not the case.

Wright said that hospitals and pharmaceutical companies will not belong to the government because of the bill. This means that completely socialized medicine would not exist.

“For most people, the changes aren’t happening fast enough,” Wright said. “Many provisions of the bill will not be in effect until 2014, which is very soon for governments but seems far away for most Americans.”