The reality is, close to 14 percent of our nation's gross domestic product is spent on health care today compared to less than 9 percent in 1980. This constitutes more than one trillion dollars in annual spending. Health care spending per capita has almost quadrupled in the same period. Projections remain that the Medicare Trust fund is expected to go bankrupt in the next 10 years. Given these facts, something drastic needed to happen.
Health care is no different than any other business.
Attempts were made by the Clinton Administration in 1993 to initiate socialized medicine to control costs and improve access. The proposal was never accepted by our society, which values a free and open enterprise. Instead, health care industry reform was left in the hands of a market driven system. On the surface, managed care is often portrayed as managed cost with little concern for the overall well being of the individual. In many instances, this was and still is the case.