Six years after the arrival of Obamacare I think it’s safe to say the country’s once fine health system is heading for disaster. I was considering this over the weekend when a friend from high school shared a horror story. Several weeks ago she found herself in constant pain. After an MRI there was concern she could be suffering from ovarian cancer as well as a large tumor in her lower abdomen. Surgery was scheduled for Monday. Last week a biopsy came back negative. She was relieved but then the hospital told her because she didn’t have cancer she had to pay for surgery upfront. She’s a medical professional and yet her employer policy didn’t offer an escape from the sudden medical bills.

This morning I read the story of economist and columnist Stephen Moore. A Washington insider he suffers from similar afflictions of the healthcare industry. You can read his odyssey at this link from the Washington Times.

Government efforts to "bend the cost-curve down" also appear a failure.

Dr. Schweitzer's daughter and the author. Courtesy, Bill Colley
Dr. Schweitzer's daughter and the author. Courtesy, Bill Colley
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When I was a young reporter I interviewed the daughter of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. She explained before her father died he predicted our pursuit of miracle cures and miracle machines would outstrip our ability to pay for the most basic medical care. He died 51 years ago! I’m also reminded of a Monty Python sketch from the early 1980s. In the following video you can pretty much see Dr. Schweitzer wasn’t the only guy with a crystal ball.  At least the chaps in England had a laugh at our shared crisis:

Courtesy, Monty Python official YouTube Channel.

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