Enough of this crap. Here’s what’s wrong with the current “debate” on health care (if you can call it a debate; right now it’s being framed as the good altruistic government versus the evil greedy racist non reformist teabaggers) and some common sense injected into a spot where common sense never wins out: politics.
Leave the private insurance companies alone.
Stop trying to run the private insurance companies out of business and, instead, compete with them on cost and quality of service. I know this is a truly free-market idea, but it’s the way we do things in the US. If the idea is to get insurance companies to clean up their act, enforce existing regulations evenly and intelligently to bring their actions in line with laws we already have. Leave their care standards alone; if they’re not fair, people probably want to leave and don’t have a good option. In that case, provide them one. Rather than cutting off the companies providing insurance and forcing people to switch, this would create a market for people looking to move on to other plans and coverage structures.
Create a plan that would compete, rather than punishing the insurance companies out of business.
Cover the 50 million NOW.
Let’s face it: the stated goal of insuring everyone isn’t the urgent need. The urgent need is insuring the 6th of the country that doesn’t have insurance as of today. Fine. Get those people covered. NOW. Remove the artificial Medicaid requirements and let these folks have care in a program we already have. If that doesn’t work, lower the age requirement for Medicare and let them in to Medicare. If the need is that urgent, we don’t need to wait years while a bureaucracy is built just to get them covered. Considering the overwhelming number of people who are happy with their existing coverage, I’d say getting them or their plan changed isn’t really a priority and instead can be worked on down the road.
Don’t pretend the government plan is about controlling costs. It also wouldn’t hurt to do this when the economy is in better shape.
We need to stop that lie now. Creating a new government agency and a system behind it won’t control the costs of health insurance right now. Instead it will blow up the federal deficit to numbers we can’t even comprehend. Medical care won’t get cheaper and more people will be covered, while hospitals will be forced to accept whatever amount the government deems it will pay for certain care. The costs of the plans would be shifted to taxpayers in the form of additional taxes.
Secondly, if we follow my plan of covering just the uninsured now, we can hold off until the economy is in better shape. Unemployment is at a 23 year high, and because of our bailouts of banks, the mortgage industry, state governments, and two car companies, we simply don’t have the money to create the entire system. Yet. Maybe one day down the line, but definitely not immediately. Remember, the government is telling you that it won’t bust the budget, but keep in mind that the government doesn’t have the most stellar record of projecting things correctly (see the afforementioned unemployment rates, deficit numbers, and stimulus results).
Don’t force people to be covered.
Some people don’t want coverage. That’s their problem. When adults make decisions, adults deal with the consequences. They should be allowed to opt out of the program if they want to, but bear the consequences for doing so. I don’t believe people should be taxed to “punish”them for not being in the plan if they don’t wish to be. By opting out, those people can accept the consequences of their actions, meaning we won’t foot the bill if they show up anywhere, including an emergency room. If you’re willing to take that risk, I’m not going to stop you.
Allow private alternatives like health savings accounts.
If I don’t want to be part of a plan but I still want catastrophic coverage or whatever else, I should be allowed to save my own money, tax-free, to pay for my own health care. I would then be taking responsibility for my own care instead of having the government or an insurer to answer for. If I screw up, it’s my life. No government intervention necessary.
Don’t punish businesses who don’t provide insurance for employees.
It’s not an employer’s job to be your mommy or daddy and tell you to get insurance, just as much as it’s not the government’s job to do the same. I have no problem with businesses being rewarded for doing so (God forbid a Democrat allow a tax break for businesses; I know) and I’d rather reward the good than punish the “bad.”
The simple fact is that most of the country, right now, has health insurance. Even by the most liberal estimates, only 50 million people aren’t covered right now by some kind of health insurance. If that’s the case, then let’s fix that 50 million. When we talk about health care “NOW” we aren’t talking about giving different care to those that have it (and the 85% who are happy with it) so let’s fix the biggest hole first.
Over the last week, a lot of people have posted the following message on Facebook:
“______________________ thinks no one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status, too.”
That’s all well and good, so let’s get moving on a real solution rather than a stupid and misguided attempt to control the health care industry, the insurance companies, and punish the “rich” to pay for it. It’s time for real solutions, not talking points.
That, my friends, is what “reform” is.