Economists all over the country are saying that the United States is mired in a recession and the light at the end of the tunnel cannot be seen. Many problems come with a sluggish economy, but nothing can be more affected than the health care of our nation's people. What should, or can, our government do to help?

There are already existing problems that plague our health care system. According to a recent government report, highlighted by a newspaper article in the December 20, 1991 edition of the Springfield, Missouri "Newsleader," the total costs for health care are expected to reach $738 billion this year and are rising at twice the rate of general inflation. With nearly 35 million Americans uninsured and unable to meet this greatly rising cost, a weak economy can only make matters worse.

Hospitals and doctors have their own problems which tend to explain the rising health care costs. Hospital emergency rooms according to the October 14, 1991 issue of "Newsweek," are overburdened, understaffed, and glutted with patients suffering from minor ailments.

Emergency rooms have become the prime victims of the nation's health care problems. People with little or no insurance are seeking their medical aid from hospital emergency rooms in place of expensive family physicians. Emergency rooms will not turn away patients, especially those on Medicare and Medicaid, like some private physicians do. In 1990, the nation's emergency rooms saw 90 million patients and had $83 billion worth of unreimbursable trauma care for severe injuries treated for people with inadequate medical insurance and no other way to pay in 1988.

Hospitals are searching for ways to treat the true trauma cases and still serve those patients with nowhere else to go. Until then, high hospital bills for those who can pay are unavoidable in order to keep the emergency rooms open, and the vicious cycle continues.

Washington has taken notice, but with much debate and little action. On December 19, 1991, a federal panel recommended a $6 billion plan to improve access to health care and reduce costs. The plan would be only temporary until the government comes up with a better idea.

Senator Edward Kennedy was quick to criticize the proposal, saying it only "pays lip service to the health care crisis." The American College of Physicians also finds fault, saying that we need comprehensive reform now and not just a quick fix.

This proposal would spend $3 billion creating school-based medical clinics and insurance for children and the addition of 250 community health centers and other access reforms. It would also take anti-smoking and disease-prevention measures, such as the elimination of tobacco subsidies and advertising restrictions on tobacco products. Changes would also be made in malpractice laws in an effort to bring down the high service fees physicians must charge in order to pay the insurance needed to protect themselves.

It is clear what the major health care problem is. The gap that exists between the cost of health care and the care Americans can afford is growing rapidly. This recent federal proposal does little to narrow this gap. Health care costs must be brought down to affordable levels.

Establishing federally-funded health clinics, as this proposal does to some degree, is a good start. It gives uninsured Americans a place to go and takes some of the pressure from hospitals and their emergency rooms. Any such program would have to be much more extensive than what is being currently offered, however, if it is to have any great effect in solving the nation's health care woes.

Unless financial pressure can be taken from doctors and hospitals and they can be given initiatives to lower their fees, socialized medicine is the key. Free medical services for everyone with the federal and state governments paying for it would solve America's health care problems.

Many find fault with this type of program, however. It is said that if the competitive factor is taken away, the quality of health care would decrease. Not so. A socialized medical system would improve the quality of health care by eliminating the greed factor. People would enter the medical profession simply to have the opportunity to give help to all those that come to them. People also criticize this type of program because they say the government cannot afford to fund such an extensive system. This also is not true. In the past, the federal government has found the money for foreign aid, to build weapon of war, and give government officials controversial raises in pay, so why can they not set their priorities straight and make the necessary budget adjustments and cuts to pay for a program that would help millions of Americans?

Not only would this idea ease the nation's health care crisis, it might also prove to be the key to get the economy on the move again. The less money Americans have to spend on health insurance and other health care costs, the more money they can spend on other things, necessities as well as recreational.

The government needs to take immediate action. Today's current federal programs have good intentions, but fall short. It would cost more to keep these numerous and ineffective programs running than it would to switch to a socialized medicine system. The tunnel is not getting any shorter, and the thousand points of light are nowhere to be seen in Washington, D.C.

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