Cal Thomas: Fixing healthcare

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, September 19th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The UK’s National Health Service ought to serve as a warning to those promoting socialized medicine in the U.S., says WORLD commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS IN BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND: Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently commented on a report he commissioned that found the UK’s National Health Service is in deplorable condition. It’s nothing new. The report’s findings echo media investigations of the past: unacceptably long waits for treatment, crumbling hospital structures, patients dying unnecessarily, patients on trolleys in hallways because rooms are unavailable, and fewer MRI scanners than in countries of similar size.

Fixing the NHS has had widespread support across party lines since its creation in 1948. Starmer’s campaign promises to finally do it brought Labour back to power. Starmer announced a 10-year plan to “fix” the system which will doubtless include more spending and probably even higher taxes. Though Starmer has promised no new funding for the NHS without reforms.

He mentioned three areas that need immediate attention: transition to a digital NHS, moving more care from hospitals to communities, and focusing efforts on prevention over sickness.

That last one – prevention over sickness – is key not only in the UK, but also the U.S. and everywhere else. For too long politicians have focused more on care rather than cures.

I am old enough—just barely—to remember when President John F. Kennedy launched The President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Famous football player and coach Bud Wilkinson directed the program. Kennedy and Wilkinson sought to lead by example. They created a curriculum for public schools that supplemented Physical Education programs already in place. Beginning in the 1961-1962 school year, the Kennedy council began a national publicity campaign to promote its directives on fitness. It included the Marine Corps inspired fifty-mile-hike-in-twenty-hour challenge. Other initiatives promoted eating the right foods, and exercise. Even cartoonist Charles Schulz contributed to one memorable popular culture tie-in: “Snoopy’s Daily Dozen” … an exercise manual featuring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang.

Suddenly it was cool and fun to be fit. That message is needed more than ever today.

Starmer’s goal for prevention is good, but it’s not enough. There needs to be a companion goal and that’s curing diseases.

One example: according to the Alzheimer’s Association nearly 7 million American seniors are living with Alzheimer’s dementia. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. In the UK, current estimates report nearly one million people living with dementia now…projected to rise to 1.4 million in 2040.

A cure for this horrible and debilitating ailment would also create economic benefits, in addition to relief for patients, family members and caregivers. According to ScienceDirect.com: a cure would save Medicare and Medicaid nearly $200 billion dollars annually. Life insurance companies and unpaid caregivers would also benefit financially. Research into the causes should also be an important budgetary priority.

I’m guessing people in the UK and the U.S. would be willing to pay a little more in taxes if they could be sure reforms were forthcoming in their respective health care systems and the money was spent wisely. Research and cures might cost more upfront but the backend savings in money and pain would be enormous and more than worth it.

The sooner Prime Minister Starmer’s proposed reforms are fully known the quicker improvements might be made. If Starmer’s reforms work, a new NHS could be the model for the world. But if past performance is any indication of future results, it’s not promising.

Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has frequently proposed: “Medicare for all, a type of NHS for the U.S.” But if it isn’t working here, what makes Sanders and his fellow advocates think it would work in a country with a population far larger than the UK?

I’m Cal Thomas.

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