Ten Things the Media Isn’t Reporting on the Health Reform Bill
1. We’re not reforming health care – We’re reforming health insurance…or at least trying to. This plan really simply provides a competitive lap-car to which other insurers much match in order to stay in business. Sure, insurance companies (including the government plan) will try and become more efficient, but in the end, we’ll see cutting of payments for services, and loss of choices for care and advanced technologies rather than actual cost reduction. Canada and the U.K. are perfect models for socialized health care which has gotten to this point. There are no means of actually cutting the costs of heath care in this bill.
2. The magical 45 million uninsured – This number is completely bogus, but not in the way you might think. The emotional appeal to the general public is that these are 45 million people are needy and uninsurable, and that government health insurance is the remedy to affordable, accessible care. What is not reported is that this number includes non-citizens, temporarily uninsured, or those currently eligible for medicare/medicaid. It also includes the healthy, wealthy and young who choose not to have insurance for general lack of need. The intent of this bill is not to provide for the needy, but rather to force coverage on those who are not in need so as to subsidize coverage for others. Basically, it’s a ploy to get the 10 million or so who don’t need or want insurance to purchase it and offset the costs of insuring the 10 million or so that do.
3. Mandates – There is discussion of requiring you to attach proof of “suitable” (a purposefully vague term to be defined later) health insurance with your tax return, and fine you if you don’t. It’s gonna happen. Get used to the government telling you what you have to do with your money.
4. Competition and Employer Plans – The double-speak here is a huge flip-flop by our current president. Candidate Obama stated several times that “If you like your current employer plan, you can keep it.” In the recent ABC infomercial, the president nuanced his position to say that the government won’t make you change it. It can, however, run all other insurers out of business, change the rules, and impose tax penalties on all employers who (along with most of their employees) prefer the current setup and refuse to endorse the government plan.
5. Other Ideas – The favorite democratic mantra of late towards republicans is “Show me options. Quit being the ‘party of “no.”’” What fails to hit the headlines is that there have been several plans put forth, both formally and informally, by the minority. We’ve had suggestions of compromises, co-ops, staggered co-pays, tax breaks, HSAs…there was even a bipartisan and revenue-neutral plan which provided universal coverage which was simply disregarded in committee! Many of these plans have fractional costs of the behemoth currently on a diet.
6. They still don’t know how they’re going to pay for it – The first pass cost somewhere around $1 trillion (MORE than the entire Iraq war, despite the president’s claims) to insure a paltry 16 million people. That’s $62,500 per person! Just slap that money in a government sponsored HSA and be done!
7. No fixes for medicare/medicaid/social security are included – In fact, there is talk of cutting medicare benefits for the purposes of helping to pay for this plan. Talk about irony. Currently the underpayments from medicare/medicaid are made up through higher costs by providers and higher premiums by private insurers. Who’s left to foot the bill when this plan goes bankrupt?
8. Polls and dueling data – A few insightful pieces have notices the contradiction between the two recent major polls on this subject, which reveal that a majority of the population think that something ought to be done to fix healthcare, but also that a majority are satisfied with the care that they get. So, what we have is a mindset of “Fix healthcare…just leave mine alone.” Many people will agree that, say, animal shelter overpopulation is a problem. However, you’re not going to get everyone in the country to adopt a puppy.
9. Responsibility and Risk– Any mindset beyond that of an entitlement falls flat in this discussion – the concept that health insurance is a fundamental moral right to be provided by others, no matter anyone’s personal situation. Many alternatives include systems of staggered premiums and co-pays based on basic health/lifestyle choices (whether one smokes or is obese, for example). One such plan is the Safeway Plan. My fear is that, without incorporating responsibility measures, this new entitlement will simply subsidize bad behavior in the same manner that welfare did throughout the 80s and 90s. Whatever plan is passed, it should not be a cover-all for every health care need. As some have noted, for example, car insurance does not cover oil changes. In the same way, if we give free checkups twice a year to every citizen on Uncle Sam’s dime, we’ll be bankrupt before you know it.
10. The status quo isn’t unacceptable – This is great fodder for speeches, but unfortunately there are instances where the cure is worse than the disease. In the last year, we’ve seen the federal government claim authority over the nation’s banks, and our single largest manufacturing sector (autos). And now, they’re vying for a stake in the industry that accounts for almost a third of our national economy. The potential for stifled technological development, individual and employer tax hikes, national debt, and limited benefits under this plan are more than we can imagine. Rather than jump into this abyss, small steps from our current system should be preferred rather than a huge, fundamental overhaul.
