Universal healthcare

Universal healthcare has been packaged to sound like something it clearly is not. Many think that it means that quality healthcare will be available for all at virtually no cost. They feel that after all, isn’t quality healthcare a right, we know its in the Constitution somewhere! Not! Healthcare sponsors claim that healthcare costs and deficits will be reduced, quality improved, competition and choices increased, with access for all.

These claims remind me of the promises of pyramid schemes that the young and naïve fall prey to. When something doesn’t smell right, follow the money and ask yourself who really benefits? The government will control the money, so who do you think will really make the important decisions? Since when has the government saved tax payer money, increase competition or run anything well? The senate runs its own dining facility, it has failed to make a profit and has incurred large debts, do we really want them to directly manage 1/6th of our national economy?

Liberal politicians who pontificate about the rich paying their fair share often cheat on their own taxes, they never complain about getting too much back on their taxes or offer to contribute their own wealth to government causes. Politicians and their special interest groups are the only ones who benefit from universal healthcare. Congress, by the way has its own private healthcare system, so they won’t be subject to the new universal health plan that they have enacted.

Some claim that universal healthcare systems are working well in other countries. They may know someone from England or Canada that say their system is great. Their foreign friends may even belief it works because either they belong to a special interest group that has been bumped up the on the waiting list or haven’t had major health issues.

Universal healthcare systems tried on a state level in this country or abroad, have all experienced similar problems. These problems include soaring deficits, out of control costs, rationing, incompetence, pilfering and special privilege to certain groups. What incentives will exist for physicians to improve their skills, or medical technology to improve when wages and prices are set by the government?

Many want to believe that with a stroke of the pen the government can take care of every problem. No one wants to believe they’ve been lied to. The truth is this problem is not a simple one, we are going to have to make some hard choices to turn the system around and get expenses under control.

The heart of the problem is that about 85% of healthcare expenses are paid by someone other than those receiving care and about half the expenses are paid for by the government. The current system also provides incentives for employers to provide health insurance. There is little incentive for individuals or the government to monitor healthcare expenses.

Some solutions to the problems in healthcare involve putting people in control of their medical dollars, through such measures as medical savings accounts in tandem with high deductible low cost insurance, incentives in the tax code for individuals not employers to buy health insurance. Consumer demand will spur competition between insurance companies and medical service providers.

Other measures include relaxing medical licensing requirements to allow nurses, physicians assistants and others to provide some services that now requires a doctors care. Allowing employers and individuals to purchase health plans from other states will break state monopolies and lower prices. Moving away from prepaid medical care for routine procedures and returning to traditional insurance with flexible savings accounts will provide incentives not to overuse medical care. Over time our single payer systems such as Medicare and Medicaid could be phased out and replaced by individual based health savings accounts and high deductible health insurance with minimal government assistance.

Sometimes the truth hurts but sooner or we have to face it. We can’t blame the rich, the evil corporations or even big government for problems we’ve created. We as a nation have allowed and even encouraged the government to do for us what we should be doing for ourselves .Now we need to take some decisive and even painful steps to take our nation back!