Gary V. Powell, Author

Evidence of the power and influence of the insurance-pharmaceutical-medical device interests in this country is the fact that the passage of a health reform bill hinges on the Massasschusetts Senate race and the Democrats retaining a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the senate. Even worse, polls show that a majority of Americans don't believe that healthcare needs reforming.

Americans have been duped. Lost in the noise were these simple facts, which alone should have convinced anyone that reform was needed.

• Despite the fact that real wages have not increased since the 1970s and inflation has been low, healthcare costs and insurance premiums have risen at double digit rates. Our personal insurance, which we pay for out of our business, has increased from about $700/month in 2005 to about $1,300 per month in 2010.
• Over 44 million Americans are uninsured, but more than twice that many are underinsured--their deductibles and co-insurance (the 20 percent or more they would pay for treatment of major illness or serious injury) is enough to bankrupt them in three to six months. Underinsurance also takes the form of lack of coverage for pre-exisitng conditions. Tens of millions of Americans who lose their jobs also lose coverage from the illnesses or injuries for which they are most likely to need coverage.

The only people making money in an overly-expensive healthcare industry that provides crappy care are insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and providers of medical devices and they carried the day in the rhetoric war.

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