A Nice Healthy Discussion!!!!

I've already ranted on the public educational system in the US.  Now it's time to take on health care. I can seriously feel the love already.

Now I want to start with several statements right on up from so that nobody can get angry with me and accuse me of things that I do not say. You know about that expression about "making an ass out of "you" and "me" when one assumes? Yeah, there's been a lot of that going on lately. Therefore, for your enjoyment and perusal, I present the following:

1) I do not hate poor people. I do not feel that "I've got mine, so screw everybody else" I simply do not feel that the solutions offered by those of a more liberal persuasion are going to do anything but replace one set of problems with another.

2) I also do not believe that everyone that is lacking brought it on themselves. That may be the case for some individuals, but I certainly do not believe it to be the case across the board.

There. Now that I've gotten this out of the way, may I just state how pathetic that I think that it is that I actually have to spell this out by way of a disclaimer? It's pretty darn sad that anyone who does not toe a certain party line has to defend themselves in this manner, ya know?

Now let's get on with it.

It's not a secret that the US has a major major health care crisis. Duh. Tell me something new and different, OK?  What IS debatable is exactly why we have it. Most liberals will, of course, beat the tired old drum that it is because those who have do not care about those who have not. I think there is an element of that there, but not in the way that they think. More on that later.

Many conservatives do tend to blame the individual. "You were careless with your money, so why should I pick up your slack"  is what they say in so many words. No doubt this is true in some cases. I'm not interested in a numerical analysis of exactly what percentage of folks without access to good health care have brought it on themselves. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that there are people whose own poor choices have brought them to this point.

At the same time, though, especially as time marches on, there are a great many people who find themselves high and dry thought no fault of their own. They lose a job. They get ill and are dropped like a hot potato and can no longer afford the "special" insurance that is all that is available to them. The list is endless as to the myriad of reasons why any one of us, save for the ridiculously wealthy, could find ourselves without access to decent health care. Do not get me going on Medicare, by the way. I know plenty of people on state aid and the whole system is rife with HUGE problems. This post isn't going to be about those problems. You can google it if you are so inclined. Or just talk to someone who relies on the government for their health care and ask yourself if that is what you would like to be the gold standard for all.

I have my own personal theory as to why we have arrived at this ridiculous dilemma that so many people find themselves in over health care. That theory is named "entitlement".  No, I do not mean that I think that acting as if one deserves health care is acting entitled. However,  people today, as a group, expect things to be handed them. "have it your way" "You deserve it all". Etc.  When my generation was young (I am fifty, to put this in perspective) we had insurance for emergencies only. You wanted to be insured in case you were in a horrible  car accident or you got cancer or your uncomplicated pregnancy turned into a very complicated labor and delivery. What you did NOT have insurance for was for the expectation that every shot, every trip for antibiotics and every well child visit would be covered. Those were budgeted for just as you would budget for food. And I don't really know that there were masses of people who had trouble paying for this. Sure, there were some people who could not afford doctors at all, just as there are people who cannot afford food. But they were not the vast numbers that there are today. And there were charities and social services to take care of these folks. The point is: it was not so widespread to be unable to afford basic health care as it today

Somewhere between then and now, some brainiac got the idea that health care plans should be all inclusive. And of course prices skyrocketed. Those who used doctors judiciously wound up paying into the same pool used by hypochondriacs that feel the need to check out every single sniffle. Hey, if you are paying for "all you can eat" healthcare, you may as well get your money's worth, right??? It has been documented that on average, people visit doctors for minor issues quite a bit more if they are not paying only for services consumed.

I don't think this is the worst of it though. The worst of it comes through the third party billing. I used to work in a hospital many moons ago. I have seen with my own two eyes thirty dollar urinalysis cups and twenty five dollar gauze squares. Now, you tell me how on earth can anyone get away with charging prices like that??? I'll tell you how. One word. And that word is greed. Remember my "let's get back to the corporate greed concept" statement above? This is what I was talking about. The restraint at ridiculously overcharging for products and services vanishes at the introduction of a faceless corporation to which these things are billed. Health care providers that wouldn't dream of jacking up the prices of things billed directly to the consumer have no qualms at all of doing just that to the insurance company. None at all. You and I both know what all this overcharging of insurance companies does in the long term to insurance rates, right? It drives them up. But you knew that, of course.

I am frankly amazed that this does not get more discussion. Or maybe it does and it's just smacked down by those who care more about pushing their agenda than about actually solving any problems. News flash: the lack of access to health care is NOT caused by a lack of a government health plan. The same entitlement that drove consumers to embrace the idea of a plan that covered every medical expense is now driving them to expect the government to provide a solution by way of national health care. Except, of course, really, its not free. We know that. Whether it's paid for by taxes or out of pocket, we are still paying for it. It is just that we like the illusion that we are being taken care of rather than having to fork over the bucks at the time of service. The same illusion, by the way, that those who are greedy have that "they aren't really hurting anybody" because the entity that they are cheating is the middle man and not the consumer. But of course it hurts the consumer. It's just not as direct. So it's way easier to rationalize for those who are so inclined to do so.

Just as this whole all-inclusive HMO produced a whole nest of unanticipated problems, I'm almost certain that a government administered health plan will do the same. Yes, everyone will have access to the same crappy level of health care. It will kind of mirror schools probably. There will be an illusion on the part of liberals that everything is "fair" because the government is providing it and in theory it is available to all. But just like in education, we will all be forced to pay for something substandard while those who can afford it will pony up for something better. Can we all say the word "inefficiency" together????

What I want to know is why the reasons that health care has skyrocketed are not being discussed so that a solution can be provided at that level instead of everyone being bullied into taking on a socialist health program or risk being labeled as a selfish, elitist pig????

Answer me that one!!!!!