KUNM Commentary: WAKE UP NEW MEXICO Part 2 Private Insurers Already Having Field Day

Listen online: http://kunm.org/news/audio/070809MILLER2.mp3

Because I have only a few minutes, I want to run through some New Mexico data and weave them into an analysis you won't hear anywhere else.

First, almost all health care in New Mexico is either provided or subsidized by government, which of course means us - taxpayers. Even people who don't pay income taxes pay for health care. Sales taxes raise money for county indigent funds. In some of our counties, land and home owners also pay for health care through property taxes.

One of the worst lies thrown around every time Congress debates health care is that the U.S. will end up with “socialized medicine.” Socialized medicine is when government owns and operates the health facilities and employs doctors, nurses and the rest of the staff.

You know what? The US already operates one of the world's largest socialized medicine systems, but unlike the other countries that use it to care for everyone, in the US socialized medicine is only enjoyed by 20 million people, about 7% of the population.

In New Mexico nearly one out of every four people is in a socialized medicine system - three times the national rate. Adding together the military, VA and Indian Health Service, nearly a half million New Mexicans are eligible for government owned and operated health care.

Another 750,000 New Mexicans are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, both federal programs. Then add in 49,000 federal employees in New Mexico. We pay for them and their dependents too.

Now we've reached 73% of the state receiving health care through federal programs and there are still a lot more New Mexicans with taxpayer funded health care to add in.

There are sixty thousand state employees and ninety thousand local government employees. Using 2.7, a low number for calculating family size and dependents, brings in another 400,000 people eligible for publicly funded care.

Here's a caution about the data. It's very difficult to separate out the numbers of people eligible for multiple programs, for example a veteran might also be eligible for Indian Health and Medicare and show up in those numbers too. To adjust for any overcount, I have reduced the totals by 20%.

Even with this adjustment downward, 70% of New Mexicans are covered by public programs. This is very different from most other states. Nationally more than 160 million people are already covered through federal, state and local government public programs.

In conclusion, the so-called private insurance market does not exist. It is a myth. A dangerous myth, one that provides cover to politicians wasting public money to prop up a non-essential industry.

Fifteen years ago when health reform efforts failed, our legislators and Congressional delegation chose the private insurance industry over their constituents. First the legislature handed over Medicaid with its nearly half million New Mexicans to insurance corporations. Then Congress gave private insurance access to Medicare beneficiaries and more recently created an overpriced, for-profit prescription program.

Although Medicare and Medicaid were working efficiently as government programs, they were handed over to private corporations. Millions of dollars that should provide health care are instead wasted on insurance overhead, marketing, paperwork and profit. And still, the Industry wants more, they want it all.

Guaranteed health care justice demands a public solution, not a transfer of tax dollars to private for-profit companies. It is time for health care, not health insurance.