A friend shared a fascinating article from the Washington Post about many of the misconceptions that Americans believe about health care in other countries. Due to the huge amount of incorrect information being thrown around in this country during Congress’s attempt at fixing our broken system, you’ve probably heard some of these already.

I don’t claim to be any sort of expert on health care, but I have no doubt that our system is broken. You’ve seen and experienced it yourself. We have some of the best doctors, nurses, and facilities in the world. Yet tens of millions of people inexcusably lack health insurance, the costs of health care continues to rise much quicker than inflation, and the entire system is a jumbled, confusing mess of paperwork and bureacracy.

For one example, consider Jenny’s recent gallbladder surgery. The hospital sent our insurance company a bill for over $11,000 for the surgery itself and a separate bill for $700 for the ultrasound that revealed the stones that got things rolling. (heh heh) The surgeon sent the insurance company a bill for maybe $3000. In each case, the provider was billing MORE than the actual cost of the procedure knowing that the insurance company would only cover a lower amount, which is related to whatever government-run Medicare decides is a fair price for that procedure. The provider writes off the difference, which provides them some tax benefits. Then we have to pay 10 percent of whatever amount the insurance company decides is fair. So out of a total “bill” of over $15,000 for a surgery that took less than an hour and an ultrasound that took 5 minutes, we are paying about $500. Only God and perhaps the providers know that actual cost of the care Jenny received, but it has very little to do with what we paid or what the insurance company paid.

At the same hospital, and hospitals around the country, pregnant women show up every day in labor with no insurance at all. The hospital is legally obligated to help them, so they deliver their babies and provide the same high level of care that we received when Brenden was born. The mothers’ out-of-pocket cost? $0. Reimbursement to the hospital and doctor? I assume they get something from Medicaid, but less than they got from us and our insurance company. But they probably got NO prenatal care because they didn’t have insurance, adding risk to both baby and mother.

I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for the wealthiest, most powerful, and most advanced country in the world to provide a cost-effective, efficient, and innovative health care system that makes coverage available for everyone in a fair way. As you can read in the Washington Post article, countries around the world have added great ideas to their own systems. I hope that our leaders can learn from the many examples out there and hammer out a plan that works for us.

I’ve read and heard some people say that Obama will get the black vote simply because he’s black (even though he’s only half black). Back when Hillary was in the running, I heard people assume that female Democrats would vote for her simply because they were female. Some probably assume the same about women voting for McCain now that Palin has joined his ticket. I’m sure you’ve heard similar stereotypes about these or other groups, such as Mexicans, Asians, Jews, Arabs, Christians, or gays. It’s tempting to paint a group with a very broad brush and forget that any group is made of individuals who might or might not match the group’s stereotype. I’ve done it myself, and you probably have as well. Why? Convenience? Prejudice? Ignorance? The problem is that doing so assumes that each individual lacks the capacity to think for him- or herself and make independent decisions. What an insult! Here are some other assumptions that you might have heard:

• All Mexicans are here illegally.
• All preachers just want your money.
• All poor people are lazy.
• All Christians are Republicans.
• All environmentalists are liberal wackos.
• All Muslims are terrorists.
• All Americans are self-centered warmongers.
• All cops like donuts.

Obviously all of these are false, but there are people who honestly believe them, or at least spout them off. There are many other, even more sinister and offensive assumptions out there. A CNN columnist wrote an interesting article about this issue with regard to the black community. Sure, analyzing the differences among various groups requires some generalization. But almost any generalization is bound to have some exceptions.