Opponents of healthcare reform fear that if the government takes control of healthcare that the nation will go into massive debt and the quality of care will suffer. That is a valid argument because the government is already heavily invested in the healthcare industry and the nation is racking up huge debts while the costs continue upward. Inasmuch as it would be easy to blame all the "rich" doctors and nurses out there, the fact is that they are not the ones getting rich.         The real problem is with the administrative overhead and giant insurance companies draining the economy. Where do they get the bulk of their money? It is from the taxpayers who are funding Medicare and Medicaid programs or from increased costs of private insurance that is provided to government workers. Since there is little or no competition, the prices keep rising.

            As it stands right now, around 50% of all money spent on healthcare comes from the government. Much of the money goes to private for-profit corporations. If the trend continues and no significant reform is enacted, then some people forecast that the government would be paying up to 70% of all the healthcare costs in the United States.

            There are other major factors contributing to this trend, including employees that elect not to take health insurance from their employer. This is not always an act of malice, sometimes they simply cannot afford it. In many cases small to medium sized employers are not in the position to pay a large chunk of the insurance and remain profitable. This is becoming a huge problem and a major contributing factor to the amount of people that are not insured.

            The reason that premiums are so high is that in the United States up to 30% of all healthcare costs goes to administration and profits as opposed to the medicines and the care. There is no reason for the benefactors of the system to change it because there is tons of money to be made, and there are corporations making tons of it at taxpayer expense.

            To those of us fortunate enough to have employer subsidized health insurance, it means that there is less money for pay raises and in some cases increased premiums cut into or eliminate pay increases. Many employees have no choice in health insurance providers, and mergers have created regional monopolies. This has led to an astronomical 428% increase in profits from 2000 to 2007 at the ten largest insurance companies.

            Of course, there is nothing wrong with making a profit, but health insurance premiums drive up the costs of all goods and services and are a major factor in government expenditures, which adds insult to injury. That means taxpayers subsidize private insurers on top of paying for Medicaid and Medicare programs, and let us not forget the government provides healthcare to prisoners as well. Isn't it comforting to know that serial killers have better health care coverage than 45 million hard working Americans?

            Nothing I have presented in this column is new, nor is the realization that the system is messed up. Inasmuch as I am hopeful that the government's newest attempt to fix the system will work to some degree, I fear that it will be easier to find Osama Bin-Laden or Jimmy Hoffa than it will be to pass meaningful legislation that won't make the problem worse.