While plowing through some old papers in boxes removed from my mother-in-law's attic my wife came across an insurance company payment that itemized the reimbursement for a bill my father-in-law received for services rendered. The year was 1950. The payment stated $4.50 for one day in the hospital and $4.00 for operating room expenses. Total $8.50. Now if the payment was 80% of the actual bill, which is standard, then the hospital charge would have been $10.63. That same year a loaf of bread was fifteen cents ( $0.15).
Let's do some calculations.
Today in some stores we can get bread for $1.50 a loaf. That's 900% increase. A night in the hospital with operating room expenses will cost at least $5000 not counting doctor's fees. That is 46,937% increase. Let me say it another way. Fifty Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty Four Percent.
If those statistics aren't bad enough we have an out of control congress and a president who doesn't know his butt from a base fiddle. Throw in a Supreme Court that has members who can't spell constitution let alone understand what it means, and you end up with Obamacare that will make the 46,937% look like a good deal.
If you aren't old enough to remember the good times then it is probably easier for you. For the rest of us it is painful to witness the destruction of our country.
So, maybe the truth is, it's not the folks that need healthcare it's the Eagle.
Kershaw Getty
