Open Letter to Catholic Church, AMA and Local Government on Health Care Costs

(This article appears in the November 2016 WNY Catholic)

The Catholic Church is taking up a special collection for the health care for priests. One major reason: Health care is so expensive in this USofA. Unnecessarily expensive.

In the second Presidential debate, Sunday, October 9^th, Don Trump and Hillary Clinton were asked how to reduce health care costs.

I plead with the Catholic Church, the American Medical Association, Rite-Aid Pharmacy(our pharmacy) and all pharmacies*, local government, and both political parties to call out the health insurance companies, big pharma and medical implement companies on their greed-driven costs.

We know of patients who don't take certain prescribed medicines because they can't afford it, even if “covered” by insurance. We know people who don't go to the doctors because their spend-down and/or co-pay is so high and they can't afford it. We know people that still can't afford health insurance, despite the ACA, and chose the lesser penalty tax instead.

We see the ads for medical implements, “which will cost us nothing,” except as tax- and premium payers. Will cost us “nothing” except reduced police protection, education, health, mental health and veteran care, because government, saddled with unnecessarily high insurance and medicaid costs, can't afford adequate essential services.

In the meantime, insurance CEO's earn $10's of million, even, in one case $102 million/per year. That's not a million dollars per year, folks. That's 102 million dollars in one year. Not for producing a cancer cure. For taking our money, gambling with it and then doling our money back to us, sometimes stingily.

We took a cruise, about 15 years ago down the Miami Beach Intercoastal waterway. The tour guide pointed out a $32 million dollar winter home, and said “that's owned by a drug dealer.” The passengers gasped. “He's a vice-president(not president or CEO) of Pfizer Chemical.” We had a friend, with a PhD. in chemistry, who worked for a drug company. He told about staying at the Waldorf Astoria and eating at top NYC restaurants on his employer expense account.

Meanwhile, seniors and children and poor and middle class are suffering and even dying, because they can't afford their medications, doctor visits or insurance, which even then covers only a portion of the cost of care.

How did Trump and Clinton answer? Trump didn't. He went on a tirade against “'Obama' Care,” and went back to “Voodoo” (George H. Bush phrase) economics: competition will bring down costs, which might work if we didn't essentially have mainly monopolies and “price-fixing.” These are the same economics that failed Reagan, who promised to balance the budget, but instead doubled our debt, and multiplied the deficit. Trump never gave specifics as to how he'd reign in costs. By the way, it's the ACA (Affordable Care Act) not “Obama Care.” Obama Care would have been a single payer system, which would have halved the cost of health care, or at least Public Option, which would have forced Big Insurance to compete with government insurances, so they couldn't afford these huge salaries and their exorbitant expense accounts. So what we have is the Republican-modified ACA.

Then, Clinton answered with such a complicated answer, I had trouble following it. She stayed clear of the excesses of the Insurances and Pharmaceuticals. She had good reason. She'd learned from, when, as First Lady, she proposed universal health care, the huge financial power of the health insurances and pharmaceuticals blasted her out of the water.

The Catholic Church is concerned about “Justice” and “Life.” The AMA and Rite-Aide (and other pharmacies) are concerned about their customers' health and care. Local governments are concerned about their citizens.

If the Catholic Church, the AMA, Rite-Aid Pharmacy, local government and the NYS Association of Counties (NYSAC), and National Association of Counties (NACO) spoke out and acted out against the unfair costs of health care, it should have a positive impact.

There are solutions. Many have been proposed. Thusfar, they've been blocked by big insurance, big pharma and their publicity/advertising power. Many politicians, because of the ridiculous costs of campaigns, are beholding to these businesses, or fear the backlash from their fabulously deep pockets.

With the backing of the Catholic Church and other Churches, and others mentioned, maybe big business would do the right thing and/or our politicians would withstand the influence and vocal power of big business and take just actions.

Forming Consciences, the six Encyclicals on “Just Wage,” and Laudato Si, among many other Catholic and Christian articles I read, recommend: studying, acting, joining others in acting, in order to effect “justice” and change.

There's news that Affordable Care Act costs are rising considerably, but the increases are less than the CBO estimated in 2009 and much less than the annual increases in health care costs before the ACA. Further the costs are most caused by Big Insurance and Big Pharma, among other private for profit providers. We obviously need Public Option, as Pres. Obama proposed and we need to change the sweet-heart deal we made with Pharma12 years ago, as Nobel Prize economist, Joseph Stiglitz has so often argued.

So if we work together in our parishes, doctors, with our pharmacists and our local governments, we can support our churches and service providers to speak out and act.

*Rite-Aid, after buying out three other pharmacies, is now being bought out by Walgren's. Sounds like close to monopoly especially in our Western New York area. Maybe pharmacists would join in the effort to eliminate predatory pricing.

We also might consider in voting, which party is more apt to try to control these costs.

Robert E. Golden, 9 years(most as an officer) on a health center board, 4 years on President Reagan's Migrant Farmworkers Health Advisory Commission (2 as its Chair), 43 years in Criminal Justice; Republican (until 10/4/16), served on the Legislative and Executive Committees of NYSAC, and the Criminal Justice Committee of NACO. 16 years of Catholic education, Eucharistic Minister, a decade of doing CCD, Pre-Baptismal Dialogues and Pre-Cana, served on the Buffalo Bishop' Kmiec's Justice and Peace Commission, chairs his parish Social Justice Committee. Has published six prior articles for WNY Catholic. (Bob can be contacted at 585-682-4821, goldenjazz59@gmail.com)