By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Guest Blogger

The rising cost of health care is a problem for millions of adults ages 50 to 64.

Health care reform offers the opportunity to help people in this age group reduce financial and health risks.

In 2007, 7.1 million 50- to 64-year-olds didn’t have insurance, according to the AARP report “Health Care Reform: What’s at Stake for 50- to 64-Year-Olds.” And those who do have insurance are likely to spend more of their income on health than younger adults.

In the U.S., which spends twice as much as other industrialized nations on health care, health care reform is badly needed for baby boomers.

Public Citizen, a citizen advocacy organization, would like to see single-payer national health insurance adopted and carried out here. It believes this is the only solution that provides universal access to care while reducing costs.

What is single-payer national health insurance?

It’s a system in which the health care expenditures of people are paid for through one source – the federal government or a subcontracting entity – using tax revenue from individuals and employers. Care is provided privately at hospitals and clinics but paid for publicly.

Individuals are allowed to choose their providers, and physicians are paid on a fee-for-service basis or paid salaries by hospitals that receive an annual budget or by nonprofit health maintenance organizations.

A majority of American physicians and the public support a single-payer system, according to Public Citizen.

The group offers the following information on “myths and facts” about single-payer because people have questions about what it is and how it works.

Myth: Single-payer would cost too much.

Fact: Because of our patchwork system of private insurance, more than 30 percent of every health care dollar is spent on administration rather than on care. This includes underwriting, marketing, billing, denying claims, profit, and paper-pushing for hospitals and physician offices.

By eliminating private insurance, a single-payer system would reduce administrative spending by about half – nearly $400 billion annually. These savings are enough to provide every American with comprehensive health insurance, without increasing total spending.

Myth: Single-payer would cost businesses too much.

Fact: Because a single-payer system is more efficient than the current system, health care costs would be lower, and businesses that already provide health care benefits would save money.

In Canada, the three major auto manufacturers – Ford, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler – have all publicly endorsed Canada’s single-payer health system from a business and financial standpoint. In the U.S., Ford pays more for its workers’ health insurance than for the steel to make its cars.

Myth: Lines for care would be extremely long.

Fact: In countries with single-payer, urgently needed care is always provided immediately. People in these countries may have to wait for some elective procedures such as cataract removal or knee replacement for arthritis.

Because the U.S. spends double what countries with single-payer spend on health care – and would continue to spend this much under a single-payer system – access to care here would be better and waits would be much shorter.

Myth: People would overuse the system.

Fact: Most estimates indicate that there would be some increased use of the system, mostly by the nearly 50 million people who currently don’t have health insurance. However, the dramatic savings from a single-payer system would easily cover the increased use of some services.

Doctors would still control most health care utilization. Patients don’t usually receive prescriptions or tests just because they want them, but because their doctors decide they’re appropriate.

Myth: Government programs are wasteful and inefficient.

Fact: Some are better than others, just as some businesses are better than others. To name a few of the most successful and helpful: the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Social Security.

Consider Medicare, which is national health insurance for the elderly; its overhead is about 3 percent of every health care dollar spent on administration, while overhead and profits for private insurance can add up to more than 15 percent.

Myth: The government would make health care decisions for patients and dictate how physicians practice medicine.

Fact: In countries with a national health insurance system, physicians are rarely questioned about their medical practices, and usually only in cases of suspected fraud. Compare this to our system, where patients and doctors routinely must ask insurance companies for permission for certain procedures, tests, and treatments.

Public Citizen urges consumers to become active in health care reform and help create the new health care system.

For more information, visit www.citizen.org/singlepayersolution.

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