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Medical care costs put in perspective
Opinion of Other Journals
Medical care costs put in perspective ■ ■ A persistent drive tow ard socialized medi cine in A m erica is being boosted by a constant flow of criticism of the cost of medical care and there can be no arguing with the fact that such costs are high. But before we rush up to W ashington to beat the drum s for a national health insurance pro gram —the first step tow ard socialized medicine —it w ould be best to pause for a careful assess m ent o f the overall picture. Such an assessm ent can best be made after a routine trip to a doctor’s office such as one rec ently reported by a Mobilian. T his patient drove to a suburban clinic provid ing com plete family medical care facilities and personnel. T he investm ent in building, equip m ent, education and training of personnel and operation m ust am ount to more than $1 million of private capital. T he patient was interview ed by an office w ork er; blood pressure, weight and tem perature were taken by a registered nurse; a skilled d o cto r’s assistant took a medical history to be transcribed into a perm anent file and also checked into the patien t’s com plaint in order to brief the physi cian; the doctor, personally selected by the pa tient, m ade a thorough exam ination of the ailment and m ade a diagnosis which was subsequently
confirmed by a second physician who was sum m oned because of his b etter familiarity with such problem s. T he patient walked out o f the office about an hour after entering and paid a $12 fee. A rriving at hom e to begin taking m edication which proved effective, the patient found a neigh borhood youngster com pleting a task of cutting and raking his lawn. T he teen-ager’s fee was $12. The message was clear to the patient-hom eowner: The relative cost of medical care is no higher than any o f the other expenses of living in an inflationary society. M edical care costs include such nonm edical influencing factors as the $ 10-plus hourly wage of the construction w orkers on the hospitals and clinics; the rising costs of drugs from an industry that finds itself over-regulated by the federal bureaucracy, and general inflationary pressures also attributable to governm ent. In perspective, Am ericans seem to be getting their m oney’s worth for protection of their most precious asset, good health, and our present sys tem is a whale of a lot better than the alternative. This article appeared in the M obile (Ala) Register, Nov 10, 1976, and is reprinted here with perm ission.
EDITORIALS / JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977 ■ 207
Medical care costs put in perspective ■ ■ A persistent drive tow ard socialized medi cine in A m erica is being boosted by a constant flow of criticism of the cost of medical care and there can be no arguing with the fact that such costs are high. But before we rush up to W ashington to beat the drum s for a national health insurance pro gram —the first step tow ard socialized medicine —it w ould be best to pause for a careful assess m ent o f the overall picture. Such an assessm ent can best be made after a routine trip to a doctor’s office such as one rec ently reported by a Mobilian. T his patient drove to a suburban clinic provid ing com plete family medical care facilities and personnel. T he investm ent in building, equip m ent, education and training of personnel and operation m ust am ount to more than $1 million of private capital. T he patient was interview ed by an office w ork er; blood pressure, weight and tem perature were taken by a registered nurse; a skilled d o cto r’s assistant took a medical history to be transcribed into a perm anent file and also checked into the patien t’s com plaint in order to brief the physi cian; the doctor, personally selected by the pa tient, m ade a thorough exam ination of the ailment and m ade a diagnosis which was subsequently
confirmed by a second physician who was sum m oned because of his b etter familiarity with such problem s. T he patient walked out o f the office about an hour after entering and paid a $12 fee. A rriving at hom e to begin taking m edication which proved effective, the patient found a neigh borhood youngster com pleting a task of cutting and raking his lawn. T he teen-ager’s fee was $12. The message was clear to the patient-hom eowner: The relative cost of medical care is no higher than any o f the other expenses of living in an inflationary society. M edical care costs include such nonm edical influencing factors as the $ 10-plus hourly wage of the construction w orkers on the hospitals and clinics; the rising costs of drugs from an industry that finds itself over-regulated by the federal bureaucracy, and general inflationary pressures also attributable to governm ent. In perspective, Am ericans seem to be getting their m oney’s worth for protection of their most precious asset, good health, and our present sys tem is a whale of a lot better than the alternative. This article appeared in the M obile (Ala) Register, Nov 10, 1976, and is reprinted here with perm ission.
EDITORIALS / JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977 ■ 207