That’s the truth behind both Democrat proposals to fix the US health care system.
If the problem in the US today is a growing number of people who are uninsured; the solution is of course, mandate that they buy insurance. Both Hillary’s and Obama’s plans will include a mandate for health insurance coverage. This hasn’t proven to work in the states that have tried it, why would we want to try it at the national level?
Never mind that the insurance is too expensive, which is why a good portion of us are going uninsured today. Never mind that someone will have to pay for those who can’t afford the insurance themselves; pay for it to the tune (if this is like other government programs) of twice as much more in taxes than it would have cost to buy it privately in the first place.
Never mind that some of us don’t want full coverage insurance, don’t want someone telling you when you need to see the doctor, which doctor you need to see, and which doctors you can’t see.
This is how we got into this mess in the first place . . .
- Government has inflated health care costs through the hundreds of billions it spends on Medicare — remember, the government has no incentive to spend this money wisely, because it isn’t the government’s money — it’s your money!
- Government tax policies have provided incentives for businesses to provide their employees with Cadillac “Oil Change” health insurance policies
- These “Oil Change” policies have further driven up the cost of both health care, and insurance, on top of the inflationary effects of Medicare
No wonder health care costs so much. No wonder health insurance is so expensive.
- If you expand the pool of money available for health care
- And create a system where the customer incurs costs that others will have to pay (either the insurance company or the government), then . . .
- The inevitable result will be overuse of health care services, skyrocketing prices, and constant attempts by insurance companies to deny benefits
Overuse of health care services? Is that really possible? It’s not only possible, it’s exactly what is happening.
DownsizeDC – Promise or threat
It’s happening in all the countries that have single payer systems, which is why they have waiting lines for services. It’s happening here with people on full coverage insurance, because someone else foots the bill. I’ve watched it happen when I had insurance, and I know how I spend money on health care when I don’t have insurance. I don’t, unless I have to.
There are solutions to the healthcare problem in the US; solutions that even include something for the government to do. Maybe they should try a few of those and see if they work before imitating something that doesn’t?
More info on the particulars of Ron Paul’s health care bill:
Congressman Paul’s bill would incentivize cost reductions by expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Ron Paul’s bill would . . .
- Enable your employer to deposit up to $8,000 per year into your HSA tax free
- The interest you will earn from this account will also be tax free, but . . .
- The more you spend out of your HSA the less you will earn in interest, while . . .
- The less you spend, the MORE you will earn
- The tax credit refund doesn’t change the economizing incentives created by HSAs because the tax refund will only come at the end of the year — every dime you spend today out of your HSA is a dime that won’t earn interest during that year
The tax credit would also incentivize a major switch from “Cadillac” insurance plans that pay for “health care oil changes,” to major medical policies that would only cover expensive procedures. After all, why should you pay a premium price to an insurance company to cover things you could pay for yourself, cheaper? The resulting lower insurance premiums would mean that . . .
- The cost of employing people would plummet, creating new jobs
- You would save money on your health insurance premiums, allowing you to maintain a larger balance in your HSA
- Your doctor would save on administrative costs, by not having to fill out insurance forms for every little procedure
In addition, insurance premiums would also be eligible for the tax credit so that . . .
- Everyone would be able to afford insurance
- There would no longer be any tax advantage to carrying health insurance through an employer
- People would do better by having their employer pay the money that formerly went to company owned insurance policies directly into each employee’s Health Savings Account (tax free) so workers could purchase their own insurance
- Changing jobs would no longer cause people to lose coverage
A nationwide switch to major medical policies would bring a nationwide reduction in health insurance costs, as well as the costs of administrative overhead, part of which could be passed on to consumers as health care providers compete for customers.
- The more you make health care providers compete by charging lower prices (as with Lasik eye surgery) the larger your HSA will grow through compounding interest
- The larger your HSA grows, the larger the deductible on your major medical policy can be
- The larger the deductible on your major medical policy is, the less your premiums will be
- The less you spend on insurance the more you can save in your HSA, at compounding interest
Imagine having a big pile of cash to cover your health care expenses as you age, independent of insurance companies or Medicare rules. Imagine having health care that becomes better and less expensive because of competition. These benefits can be yours if you demand that Congress give them to you.
DownsizeDC – Ron Paul’s health care bill
Ask Congress to pass Ron Paul’s health care bill. You can do so here.
Editor’s note, 2019. It’s no wonder I was getting so depressed I was contemplating suicide at about this point in time. I wasn’t reading anything but DownsizeDC press releases and CATO propaganda, and all they told me was just how fucked we all were and it was going to get worse. It’s a good thing that Bear Philley got me started playing World of Warcraft. Wasting time in games is better than wasting your life waiting for the end to come, or hurrying fate along with precise action designed to end your life.
Another article that was mostly cribbed from somewhere else. Why didn’t I delete this one when I was deleting stuff? Who knows.
