Abstract
Part and parcel of the "facts of life" to every American citizen today is his staggering responsibility to protect himself and his family from the perils of poor health and the financial burdens that invariably accompany it. | As 1973 fast approaches, the realization is becoming more widespread that there must be a change in the organization and delivery of our health care system to make it available to all at prices that remain within reason. | The purpose of this paper is basically twofold: to identify the problems in our health care system today and to consider how two alternative routes could provide partial or total solutions to the problems. | Chapter I will describe the present system of health care and its problems today by (1) reviewing the background and trends of coverage of the private health insurance industry; (2) reviewing the present Federal programs of Medicare and Medicaid and their position of importance in the overall scheme of health care ; and (3) identifying the current critical problem areas in health care, which are generally those of organization, delivery, and finance. | As Chapter I provides background information to the system today and pinpoints critical problem areas, Chapter II will deal with two alternative solutions. The alternatives represent two approaches to the problem, each of which characterizes unique philosophies. The first alternative is represented by Senator Edward M. Kennedy's "Health Security Act." The second alternative is Representative Omar Burleson's "Healthcare Proposal." I would like to emphasize that I have selected these particular bills because they only represent two diverse solutions to the problem: the first is the monolithic approach which proposes the disintegration of the private health insurance industry and a "start from scratch" attempt to make health care available to all citizens at prices they can afford; the second bill is a national health insurance plan which utilizes both the private and the public sectors. | Chapter II will outline these proposals and briefly describe how they would be enacted. | Chapter III will consist of an analysis of how these two proposals would answer to the needs of America in the critical problem areas outlined in Chapter I. | I feel that National Health Insurance is a timely topic. As it is certain that Congress will make a decision soon on the various national health insurance proposals, it is important that we be familiar with the problems and their background to be better able to initiate and make successful a future health care plan.