Why public health care is stupid.
I just don't think people understand this health care issue. Radical reform is being pushed so hard so fast by the left, that no one has even had time to educate the public on the facts. I watched Michael Moore's "Sicko" a few years ago, and I have to admit I found it a compelling case for socialized health care. He painted a picture of greedy private health care providers robbing dying Americans VS. a social program serving the "public good". Only recently when health care reform has taken the spotlight have I taken the time to research & examine this issue. Apparently, "Sicko" was an extremely biased and rosy picture of socialized health care... showing the Cuban hospital rooms for the 'elite', instead of the actual barbaric care most people get.
I'd sum up the arguments of public health care advocates as:
All of the above are false. The real results of a public plan will be:
GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Everyone supporting reform points out that health care inflation has risen four times the rate of other services in the past few decades. Why? Let's look at a few facts:
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
Spending is only part of the puzzle. Is it any wonder that big insurance & big pharma are reinvesting their profits as the largest lobbying force in Washington? The health industry is the most heavily regulated. Bills and regulations are crafted by these companies under a guise of protecting patients, yet they squash competition and consumer choice with things like Patient Bill of Rights. What are ways consumer choice & competition could drop health care costs?
LITIGATION COSTS
Tort reform would make a great blog post, but a few facts related to health care:
For those who think public health care will provide quality... don't watch Sicko, just ask a real Canadian. Profit & competition breeds innovation. Bureaucracy & regulation just breed deadweight loss. The populist mob reads the headlines & want a sirloin steak at McDonald's prices. I guess they don't care if they have to take other people's money or reduce doctors pay to get that.... they just don't understand the consequences. What if we didn't have innovation in health care in recent past? We'd still be bleeding out with leeches. Any American has better health care provided by $5 spent at aisle #4 of Rite-Aid than King Henry VIII had! So is health care a right, or a responsibility? Does every American deserve the best medical advancements and technology available? Then there will be no more advancements.
A public plan WILL compete with private, and ultimately hurt them and their quality. What would happen if the public plan led to a public monopoly? Now, your life choices become a burden on society & the state. Let's outlaw smoking, drinking, french fries, require motorcycle helmets. Oops, guess we're already part-way there. Say we had a 100% effective cure for cancer... except it cost $500,000 per person. In a public health care system, who would get that & who would decide who gets it? What if it cost $100... or what if it cost $100 million? I'd rather have a bureaucrat I CHOOSE, rather than one assigned to me which I have no choice but to pay.
I'd sum up the arguments of public health care advocates as:
- Greedy insurance/pharma companies rip off Americans
- Health care is a "right"
- Countries with socialized health care have better care than us
All of the above are false. The real results of a public plan will be:
- Health care quality will decrease
- Our tax burden will increase
- Private providers will be put out of business by taxpayer-supported govt. competition
GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Everyone supporting reform points out that health care inflation has risen four times the rate of other services in the past few decades. Why? Let's look at a few facts:
- Health care costs are rising in both US and Canada, so we can't blame the free-market for this inflation.
- Our government spends the most per-capita on health care of any country in the world *
- Medical procedures not covered by third-parties (e.g. lasik, plastic surgery) have not suffered this inflation *
- Of those "greedy" insurers that rake in obscene profits, the ones that do Medicare/Medicaid reap the most profit? *
- Even Obama & his experts have admitted that Medicare/Medicaid spending are primarily responsible for health care inflation *
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
Spending is only part of the puzzle. Is it any wonder that big insurance & big pharma are reinvesting their profits as the largest lobbying force in Washington? The health industry is the most heavily regulated. Bills and regulations are crafted by these companies under a guise of protecting patients, yet they squash competition and consumer choice with things like Patient Bill of Rights. What are ways consumer choice & competition could drop health care costs?
- What if you could find a good doctor & sign a non-liability form with them.... so, he/she wouldn't have to purchase expensive liability insurance which is passed onto you? Not allowed!
- What if nurse practitioners could setup clinics for basic care, where you could go for cheap treatment of basic problems? Not allowed!
- What if there were less controls on the types of arrangements you could enter with health providers, and less restrictions on who could practice medicine? Not allowed!
- The costs of health regulation outweigh their benefits by two to one, meaning that the total burden of health regulation in the United States, as of 2002, was $169.1 billion annually, or an average of $1,500 per family
- reference for above
LITIGATION COSTS
Tort reform would make a great blog post, but a few facts related to health care:
- Litigation costs are 10 times higher in the US. E.g. maternity suits are common and juries are very sympathetic to dead babies, regardless of fault. *
- Since 1975, medical malpractice costs have risen four times as fast as general price inflation and twice as fast as medical price inflation. *
For those who think public health care will provide quality... don't watch Sicko, just ask a real Canadian. Profit & competition breeds innovation. Bureaucracy & regulation just breed deadweight loss. The populist mob reads the headlines & want a sirloin steak at McDonald's prices. I guess they don't care if they have to take other people's money or reduce doctors pay to get that.... they just don't understand the consequences. What if we didn't have innovation in health care in recent past? We'd still be bleeding out with leeches. Any American has better health care provided by $5 spent at aisle #4 of Rite-Aid than King Henry VIII had! So is health care a right, or a responsibility? Does every American deserve the best medical advancements and technology available? Then there will be no more advancements.
A public plan WILL compete with private, and ultimately hurt them and their quality. What would happen if the public plan led to a public monopoly? Now, your life choices become a burden on society & the state. Let's outlaw smoking, drinking, french fries, require motorcycle helmets. Oops, guess we're already part-way there. Say we had a 100% effective cure for cancer... except it cost $500,000 per person. In a public health care system, who would get that & who would decide who gets it? What if it cost $100... or what if it cost $100 million? I'd rather have a bureaucrat I CHOOSE, rather than one assigned to me which I have no choice but to pay.
