Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Health care costs as percent of GDP have been rising steadily for 40 years....from about 5% in the 60s to over 15% now.

The steadily rising cost of health care is not a partisan issue....it is fact, without regard to the party in power.

When Reagan took office in 1980, the per capita expenditures on health care were under $1,000....by the time Clinton took office in 1992, that cost rose to about $2.500...in 2000, it was about $4000 and now it is over $7,000.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealt...ads/tables.pdf (see table 6)

But if you want to make it a partisan issue, by blaming Clinton, I would suggest the partisanship comes about with the proposed solutions, if any....Reagan and GHW Bush did nothing to even attempt to address the problem. Clinton tried and failed, with the exception of SCHIP. GW Bush did nothing. Obama is taking it head on.

Under Clinton, Medicaid expanded beyond it's means. After the failure of his health initiatives the insurance industry, HMO's and Managed Care plans took off and essentially have run amock over our healthcare delivery. They have grown exponentially since the late 1990's. That is where it started. With the failure of them to get anything done and to do it right. After the failure they basically quit the game. And here we are today.

http://books.google.com/books?id=tK7...age&q=&f=false