Seven things to think about before supporting national health care

Photo by Paul Keleher

1. There is no problem with uninsured. I say there is no problem because the reason they are uninsured is choice. If someone could be insured but chooses not to be, that is not a problem - not for me anyway. I live in Hawaii, one of the most expensive cost of living areas of the country. A 20-something smoker can buy a health insurance plan for well under $100 a month. Working one afternoon or evening shift a week at a minimum wage job will cover the monthly payment with money leftover for a savings account dedicated to copays. Giving up a evening or two at clubs, a few meals in restaurants, or the premium cable channels will also cover the cost.

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2. The neediest already have programs available to them. Programs like Medicare and Medicaid are already in place for the disabled, elderly, and poor. Hospitals report trying to help qualified patients sign up for these programs but the patients don’t bother because they are treated anyway. Charitable organizations and free clinics already exist to help those in need.

3. Healthcare, like other necessities such as food, transportation, and clothing is something to be purchased by the individual not the government. The paradigm that healthcare is a right to be provide for by the state has developed over time and is encouraged by well-meaning but power hungry politicians who want to confiscate and distribute your money rather than allow you to spend it yourself.

4. Nationalized healthcare creates problems for the countries that have implemented it. Despite what you may have seen on the big screen over a bag of popcorn, there are new stories daily of misery, suffering, and frustration caused by things like rationing, shortages, long waits, and other problems inherent in nationalized healthcare systems.

5. Nationalized healthcare robs you of choice. You will have less, if any, choice about who treats you, when you are treated, where you are treated, and what procedures or tests are performed on you. Why? Because you will no longer be paying the bill. The decision will be made by government bureaucrats concerned with numbers, budgets, bottom lines, and heading home before traffic gets heavy.

6. Nationalized healthcare transfers power from the individual to the government. Giving government the power to do anything for you means giving them the power to do anything to you. Once the government is paying the bill for your healthcare, the government may eventually feel obligated to help you make the best decisions concerning your health.

7. Quality and availability would decline drastically. There is no problem with uninsured. I say there is no problem because the reason they are uninsured is choice. If someone could be insured but chooses not to be, that is not a problem - not for me anyway. I live in Hawaii, one of the most expensive cost of living areas of the country. A 20-something smoker can buy a health insurance plan for under $100 a month. Working one afternoon or evening shift a week at a minimum wage job will cover the monthly payment with money leftover for investments or a savings account.

Noteworthy facts:

• 38% of the uninsured live in households with over $50,000 annual income.
• 20% are in households that earn over $75,000 a year
• 31% of the uninsured qualify for Medicaid, S-CHIP, or other free government programs but choose not to enroll.
• People between the ages 18 and 34 spend four times more on alcohol, tobacco, entertainment, and eating out than on out of pocket medical expenses.
• Federal law already requires that hospitals provide care to anyone that reaches within 250 yards of an emergency room regardless of ability or willingness to pay.
• 12 million illegal immigrants in this country are receiving free health care
• Mexican citizens can, by law, request compassionate entry at the border, be picked up by an ambulance and treated at an American hospital.

Summary

There already exists a substantial safety net for those who can’t or choose not to pay for their own healthcare. Many Americans who’ve chosen not to make arrangements could easily afford to. Socializing our system would create grave (no pun intended) problems with rationing resulting in long waits as supply fails to meet demand.