Glenn Beck: Put the 'care' back in health care
See Glenn Beck's article - http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/01/10/beck.healthcare/index.html
Regardless of your opinion of Glenn Beck's reporting, his experience points out that there are other aspects to health care than those that have to do with how much it costs and who should pay for it.
Obviously, not all individuals who provide health care are like the ones he encountered in his recent visit to a hospital for outpatient surgery, and hopefully they are in the minority. But, it's also true that many of us can recall experiences where one begins to question the motivation of some of the people who make their living from the health care industry. Why are they there, if not to provide "care?" Is this the best we can do?
In determining the pay for company executives, a compensation study is often done to determine what level of pay is sufficient to keep a good executive from straying. Sometimes, the amount of compensation for a position is determined by the dollar value of the business they are responsible for handling. People in public service have said that the pay for public service is too low to attract people with high qualifications because they can do better in the private sector.
In the case of health care, is the pay given to healthcare workers an appropriate portion of what we collectively pay for care? What is happening when an insurance company approves a lower amount for a service provided, then reports record earnings to the shareholders and pays record salaries to their executives.
Are the shareholders still winners when they show up at the hospital?
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