Universal Healthcare: McCain-style

Good news everybody! According to John Goodman, who helped to create the healthcare policy of John McCain, all Americans already have health insurance - it's called the emergency room! No, he's not kidding! Since, by law, emergency rooms cannot turn a person in need of treatment away for inability to pay, Mr. Goodman makes the case that all Americans are insured. He even states that the Census Bureau should stop categorizing people as "uninsured" and instead "categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care."

Look, I know that this doublespeak worked well for the Bushies - calling a law to trample our constitutional rights and civil liberties "The Patriot Act," naming another law that encourages mediocrity and guts the basics of our schools "No Child Left Behind" - but this is really reaching! Are McCain's people so desperate that they are not just taking a page here and there from Karl Rove's playbook, but actually stealing the very ink he used to write it? That's really desperate!

From a financial standpoint, suggesting that the use of emergency facilities is comparable to having health insurance that covers preventative care is ludicrous. The costs of emergency medicine are far greater than for comparable care providing by a doctor's office/clinic or urgent care. In 2005, the Minnesota Council of Health Plans published a comparison of costs of various procedures in both the ER and a doctor's office. I don't think it is at all surprising that the costs were much higher in the ER. If we are really committed to bringing down healthcare costs, pointing people toward the emergency room is not the way to go! Using the ER for regular healthcare is certainly not the way to make healthcare more affordable to the masses.

During graduate school, part of the requirements of our program was to work in the psychiatric emergency room at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. While indigent patients did receive care, the amount of time and money that was used to deal with issues better left for a regular psychiatric visit was amazing. Trying to deal with a stabilized patient's lack of an antidepressant refill meant less time trying to help a suicidal patient, other than finding a facility for him to go to.

Oh, and last time I checked, the emergency department of most hospitals does not offer chemotherapy, well-baby checkups, routine pre-natal care, cancer screenings, physical therapy, routine physicals...

The Democrats have been suggesting that McCain and his campaign are out of touch with the American people. I think John Goodman may have inadvertantly proved it for them.