THIRD PARTY RAPE REVISITED (C)
C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.
When Johnson pushed Medicare, I predicted that it would bankrupt the country because government has never run anything economically sound. Medical costs jumped from 4.5% of GNP to 12% within 5 years and the crisis in medical costs has continued since at least 1970, WITH NO IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH OF AMERICANS! Those costs are now 17% and health is no better. In 1981 I wrote a book THIRD PARTY RAPE. The first sentence was “In the beginning Blue Cross-Blue Shield begat the evil empire.”
Medical insurance policies began with Blue Cross in the 1920’s when two Dallas hospitals offered policies which provided 20 days of hospitalization annually for a premium of $6. Ten years later Blue Shield began in Oregon, with policies that provided payments to physicians, WHEN THEY CARED FOR PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL! Incidentally, those physicians who initially agreed were kicked out of their local medical society!
The battle between various factions has never ceased and has grown to include a variety of greedy entities. In the state of Missouri, Blue Cross-Blue Shield has been one of the most corrupt and obnoxious in the country. Twenty years ago I entered a 5 year battle against them and eventually received 37 judgments against Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Missouri. The federal judge said “I find Dr. Shealy credible. I do not find Blue Cross- Blue Shield or HICFA credible.” A year later, based on other fraud charges, the President of BC-BS was sent to jail for two years. Shortly after that BC-BS tried to go from non-profit to for profit legal status taking with them $3 billion in “assets”. Those assets were eventually left in a non-profit foundation, theoretically to be used for the welfare of Missourians.
A recent TIME article “Health-Care Grudge Match!”? (Oct. 26, 2009) emphasized the battle between two “colleagues”, government and the insurance mafia. Not surprising-different groups of crooks rarely maintain working relations long term! Actually, especially since Medicare, the Third Party has consisted of the insurance moguls, the legal profession, government and the PharmacoMafia surely the most corrupt alliance in history! I would not trust any one of them to tell me the time of day! All they have been interested in is money and power. There has never been a Health Care or Health Insurance system.
The only sane solution to the medical disease financial fiasco is a true non-profit foundation, remarkably overseen by a Board that largely consists of independent monitors, mainly non-industry independent public members who must have a Board membership limit of not more than 3 years. And of course, unless Americans take more personal responsibility for their health habits, no system can handle the costs of the 85% of diseases that are the result smoking, obesity, crummy nutrition and slothful inactivity. Remember that only 3% of Americans have all 4 basic health essentials which are the opposite of the 4 disease habits! Meanwhile Third Party colleagues will continue to rape everyone, including each other.