Do Candidates Understand Healthcare Problem ?

After seeing the healthcare plans of several of the presidential candidates, I am beginning to wonder if they really understand the medical care crises in the United States. Most of the plans that I have seen are very superficial, including that of my own candidate, Bill Richardson.

The candidates seem to think that the only problem we have with medical care is that the poor do not have medical insurance. But the truth is that this is only a small part of America's healthcare crises. The fact is that only the rich have adequate healthcare coverage in this country.

A lot of the middle-class think they have adequate coverage, but that is only because they have not had a truly serious and longterm health problem. When they do, they'll quickly learn that their insurance is not nearly as good as they were led to believe.

The real problem with medical care in this country is that we have put the insurance companies in charge of making our healthcare decisions, and these companies are not guided by altruism. The sad fact is that the less an insurance company pays out for medical care, the larger their profits are, and profits are the name-of-the-game with these companies.

Most of the candidates' plans would just extend private insurance coverage to poor Americans. That would mean a lot more money for the insurance companies, but it would not solve our country's medical care problems.

There is only one way to really solve our healthcare crises. We must get the insurance companies out of healthcare completely. The only people who should be making medical decisions that affect our health are DOCTORS -- not insurance company executives trying to maximize their profits.

The only rational answer to our healthcare crises is institute a government-run single-payer system. Anything less is just putting a bandaid on a gaping and festering wound.