Correcting the record on health care debate

In response to the anti-health care reform letters I've seen over the past several weeks, I think it's important to keep some perspective.

First, our health care system is not the best in the world. While paying the most per person of any industrialized country, we get an incredibly poor return on our investment. The United States ranks 33rd in infant mortality. When it comes to life expectancy, the U.S. ranks 50th among all nations. If you live in Canada, your average life expectancy at birth will be 3.12 years longer than if you live in the U.S. Yet in Canada they spend less than 46 percent of what we spend per person.

Second, the fear of government run health care is irrational. Not only are other countries able to provide better returns on their investment, but approximately 100 million (over 1/3 of the population) get care through Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, or other federal programs.

Third, the basic aspects of our system are flawed. Tens of millions of Americans are without insurance. Covering everyone is essential since prevention and early treatment are a critical opportunity to bring down the costs of treating chronic diseases.

Fear has also been expressed about government denying care, but we have to remember that insurance companies have demonstrated themselves to be masters of denial as they support their own profits over the needs of the patients.

Finally, the economics of the debate are completely stilted. The system we have actually gets us less but costs us more, raising the obvious question of whether competition helps us in any way. There is no system of quality health care in the world that is completely based on a for-profit, market-driven model. If such a system worked, would we have needed Medicare and Medicaid?

It's time to give up on our false notions about what is a completely broken system and enact meaningful health care reform now.

Dr. Robert M. Sargis

University of Chicago Medical Center

Aurora