OR: Will the System Become Cash and Kerry
The American healthcare systems (it would be inappropriate to say there was only one) have begun to reach the point where the costs to the retired (actually, those over 40 probably qualify) that Americans are beginning to see that comprehensive reform of the system(s) is necessary before they become bankrupt. Most Americans are fairly sure it is not on the Republicans priority list to do so and President Bush is the flagbearer for the party. Make no mistake about it, the retired vote and the costs they are incurring for the healthcare they receive are becoming unbearable.
Many will immediately point out that the President has bigger fish to fry on his plate and that the Congress should be working on this issue and should be taking the blame if there are failures more than the President. Let's accept for a minute that this is true and then point out that Mr. Bush continually talks about leadership, his leadership, and that when we hear about the focus of why failure is occuring, it's much easier to fire the coach, excuse me, President, than the team, excuse me again, the Congress.
So what is the problem with healthcare that is so serious? Isn't it the best care in the world? Don't we have more doctors than we can shake a stick at doing everything from specializing in footcare to blue nevises (a type of mole)? Sure, and this article is not against doctors, or hospitals, or healthcare, per se. What this article hopes you will see is that the costs of the system are beginning to threaten the people who need it the most with financial suicide.
Let me give you an example that is symptomatic of the problem, but is hardly the only one. A retired couple has an income of $20,000 (social security and small pension) and have medicare (Parts A & 
plus a holdover plan because the husband worked for 40 years with the same company. So, the couple have a drug prescription plan that covers $3000 per year.
The husband has high blood pressure and takes Toprol XL which retails at $100 per month (30 pills) so $1200 per year. The wife takes medicine to control her sugar which costs $80 per month (30 pills) or $960 per year. So, they have covered $2160 in expenses by their plan for an out-of-pocket cost of $480 (their co-pays). Everything is fine until one of them has a heart arythmia and has to go into the hospital. Now, the cost of the medicine (which runs several thousand) is covered first by their presecription plan (oops....over the limit) then hospital care insurance and then, the policy holders. Now, they have no coverage and each month have to pay $180 to continue living.
I could not find any statistics for this but my research in my church said the average couple over 60 had no less than 8 prescriptions filled per month at a cost of over $1000 and over 70 the number jumps to 12. When I mentioned to the couples that I was interested in finding out how they were coping with the costs of their prescriptions variations on "We're not" were echoed in almost every case. Who do they blame? Well....it isn't Hillary Clinton.
What many of the people said made them most angry was that the Republicans in Congress were more concerned with limiting the costs of malpractice insurance which has no connection in their opinion to the costs of drugs. They believe drug companies are protected by the Republicans to ensure that the stock market does well. Companies like Merck, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly have risen very nicely since the bottom of the market in 2002 while the costs for drugs have risen even faster.
So what is the consequence of this? Well, this would normally be a sure group of Republican voters. But they are not so sure this year. They believe the Democrats are more inclined to offer reforms which will mean they can make ends meet instead of borrowing from savings to pay to keep themselves alive. They think the President is focusing too much overseas while their quality of life is diminishing.
They might just vote Cash and Kerry...