Hofstra University history professor Michael D’Innocenzo returned to North Shore Towers on Monday, June 1 to give a current events presentation that focused on healthcare issues.
“The topic tonight about healthcare reform is a huge, monumental issue,” D’Innocenzo said following an introduction from resident Harriet Epstein.
D’Innocenzo said that part of what is fascinating about the topic of healthcare reform is that it is “hard to figure out what’s going on,” even though during the presidential campaign both candidates said that it was a priority.
Also, he said that one issue that has come up is what the role of government should be in all of this.
Currently, D’Innocenzo said that the United States has a medication system rather than a healthcare system.
“We have a treatment system rather than something that fosters healthcare,” he said, adding that the country needs a system that focuses more on “preventative and good health practices.”
When it comes to the quality of healthcare treatment, D’Innocenzo said that the United States ranks 37 out of 37 industrialized countries. He said that the United States has great healthcare for those who can afford it, and also mentioned that there are about 50 million people who do not have any health insurance at all.
D’Innocenzo cited the New England Journal of Medicine as saying that, on an annual basis, approximately 18,000 Americans die because they did not have health insurance, which it said was the equivalent of having six 9/11 attacks ever year.
France is ranked number one, D’Innocenzo said, and is the country with the best healthcare record. In fact, he refereed to France as having the “gold standard of healthcare.”
D’Innocenzo said that President Barack Obama has said that he wants a healthcare bill to come out of the House and Senate before they go on vacation in August. He said that, although the president has given a timetable, he has still “not given a clear sense of direction about what’s going to be done.” D’Innocenzo said that, though Obama has spoken about universal health insurance, the details of it are unclear.
The Republicans also have a plan, he explained. It would involve privatizing healthcare reform and having health savings accounts.
D’Innocenzo said that determining what action should be taken for healthcare reform is a complex topic. He said that there are three major goals – to have everyone covered, to have good coverage and to make it affordable.
“It’s an enormous challenge,” he said.
