American medical science is amazing in what it can do to prevent and solve many of our ills. And yet, although our doctors, hospitals and varied medical programs are able to work many miracles, there still are problems we can’t solve.
And then there is the cost.
We don’t want anyone who needs medical care to be denied it.
Medical costs are generally borne by personal expenditures, by insurance financed by individual and employer contributions, by volunteers and by government programs.
We know that medical costs are high and rising, but it is likely that most people do not realize just how much of our tax money is required by government medical programs.
Take the federal government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs, for example.
Medicare pays for certain hospital and doctor bills and a package of health care plans for people 65 and older. Those enrolled help pay through payroll deductions and co-payments.
Medicaid is a program of federal and state governments that pays for medical care for people who can’t afford it and for some who are disabled.
Did you realize that Medicare covers about 45 million of our people over 65 — and that number is expected to rise to 78 million people by 2030 as baby boomers retire?
Medicare now costs more than $450 billion a year.
Medicaid costs for the federal government are more than $200 billion a year, and states pay about $100 billion.
Did you realize that just Medicare and Medicaid take over 20 percent of all federal government spending?
Do private payments, insurance coverage, Medicare and Medicaid meet all of our people’s medical needs? Unfortunately, they don’t.
In Chattanooga just last weekend, volunteers participating in Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps, a nonprofit organization that provides free dental, vision and medical care, were swamped by people who needed care and went to Signal Mountain Middle/High School for help.
We need to be aware of our people’s big medical and dental needs, the many programs that seek to meet those needs — and the huge cost that is covered by private payments, taxes, volunteers and a variety of other providers.