Health care points

An editorial in our local paper recently had the title “It’s time to stop the politics and just get behind Healthcare reform.” This is like saying, “Let’s stop all this playoff nonsense and just give the trophy to MY team.” Healthcare reform IS politics. Some facts:


We already have universal emergency care in America. Don’t believe me? Just go to your local emergency room without your insurance card. It is against the law for them to turn anyone away. The cost is absorbed by taxpayers (through hospital write-offs) and insurance companies (through higher premiums).


We already have non-emergency care available to the poorest of our country through Medicaid. In fact, if the real goal in healthcare reform was a single payer system, all they would have to do is raise the maximum income level for Medicaid by a few percentages a year. In no time everyone would qualify and insurance companies couldn’t possibly compete. No big meetings, no 10,000 page documents. Very simple, really.


“Ahhhh, but this bill will require everyone to buy health insurance thus sharing the costs.” First of all, we already share the costs through our taxes. Secondly, what this bill really does is make it illegal to pay cash. Surprise, surprise, there are some people out there who consider insurance to be one big Ponzi scheme and simply pay for their own expenses out of their own pocket. There are also groups who share each other’s expenses; not as insurance companies (paying before hand to “insure” the bill will be paid) but sharing the bill after it is made. This legislation will force them to buy insurance, thus forcing them to either pay twice for their care or to participate in a program they don’t want to (much like all those who provide their children with private education).


In fact, let’s talk about those “45,000,000 uninsured.” Two-thirds of those are illegal aliens who should be deported, not medicated. Now, I believe whole-heartedly that we should be allowing more LEGAL immigrants into this country. Since we don’t have enough babies, we need the extra workers. However, illegals are, by definition, breaking our laws by being here. They are criminals. Letting them stay is a slap in the face to everyone who has jumped through the hops to come here legally. It has also created an entire slave class who do not have the same rights as everyone else.


That leaves us with only about 15,000,000 uninsured. About half of those don’t have insurance because they are between jobs. As soon as they are reemployed they will be covered again. This is not an issue for healthcare reform, but for economics.


We are down to about 7,000,000 uninsured now. Half of those are in the category mentioned above: those who don’t want insurance.


So, what the politicians are really doing is trashing the best healthcare system on the planet for the benefit of 3,000,000 people. With a population of 350,000,000, that means less than 1%.


Do we have the best system? Surveys here and in other countries show that more Americans are happy with their care than any other country on the planet. People from other countries often come HERE for there care. In fact, all those who are saying Canada is so much better, do not go there for their care, even though travel is very inexpensive. They stay right here, using this supposedly horrible system while griping about it.


The healthcare systems of other countries are about to break them. They are collapsing and, in several countries, they are moving away from single payer systems. They have people dieing from ailments that are simple to treat (such as a dose of penicillin). They are totally messed up in most areas. Why in the world would we want to duplicate this??!!! We need to come up with our own solutions instead of following the fashions of the times. We need to be the leader, not the follower.


There are several possible solutions (if indeed a solution is needed at all).

The one with the most likely chance of passing is vouchers. The government simply sends each legal resident a check to put in a medical savings account. This money can be used to buy insurance or pay medical bills directly. Any money left over at the end of the year, the owner gets to keep. By putting the power back into the people’s hands, we reestablish the free market controls. No longer will the insurance with the biggest kickback for your bosses secretary get your business, but the one that best meets your needs at the cheapest price. No longer will procedures be chosen by what insurance will cover, but by what YOU think you need. No one will even need Medicaid or Medicare anymore. Everyone gets an equal chance at great insurance.

The better, though much less likely solution would be to remove the government from the entire industry.


A little history here: originally insurance was something everyone bought themselves, though only those in certain industries even needed it. During WWII the government froze wages. This presented a real problem, since companies needed to be able raise salaries to keep and attract the best employees. Since they couldn’t offer them money, they began offering them insurance. After a time, the government passed laws that all companies with a certain number of workers HAD TO provide this bennie. Then, because it wasn’t “fair” for the poor to not have it available, they invented the medi’s. They set the price that the medi’s will pay for procedures and the insurance companies follow along. And, as has happened with EVERY industry ANY government has gotten involved in, the price has skyrocketed and the quality has begun to fall.


Now, if you removed Uncle Sam from this equation, companies could pay their people cash instead of insurance if they wanted to and let the individuals decide if they needed insurance or not. And the free market would be able to control prices and quality again. Some businesses would still offer insurance to attract the best workers, but others would find that the higher salary would work better for them.


These solutions solve any problems (and it really is stupid that our insurance is tied to our jobs), and control prices and quality through the free market forces God invented.


Simple, natural solutions.

Unfortunately, they aren’t going to even be considered. Why? Tune next time….