The Journal & Courier ran a very bare bones story about the ongoing Congressional health care debates, saying there are three basic proposals:
One would look like Medicare. Another would be based on Medicare, but administered by an outside party. The third would leave it up to the states to set up a public insurance plan for residents.
Insurers say a public plan would put them out of business and Republicans say it would be a dealbreaker in reforming health care.
A couple of observations – putting the health insurance industry out of business may be a feature as opposed to a bug. The industry doesn’t appear to be serving us very well but instead seems to be a giant leach, leading to a situation where, by and large and with some exceptions, we pay more for health care but get less than in other countries. As a tool for managing risk, controlling costs, and efficiently distributing a scarce resource, the insurance industry has not been notably successful.
As for Republican opposition, it bears mentioning that many Republicans couldn’t even bring themselves to support SCHIP, a not very controversial measure. I don’t see them playing along with any significant health care measure.
“Health care” must be provided by someone else, and therefore cannot ever be considered any sort of “entitlement” by any rational person–to do so is to endorse slavery.
To me, the big problem is the whole issue with extending those final years of life. Using the Canada example, it seems all of the stories I hear are ones where routine care is done well, but the big things (terminal illness) are done poorly.
If the goal is to provide good coverage to most Americans without breaking the bank, then we have to accept, as a people, that we are going to die someday. Those that can accept it right away can use the government plan, those that want to strain for a few more months or so need to buy their OWN expensive plan to pay for it.
Private insurance can still have its place. Let the public plans pay for checkups, births, and CUREABLE diseases. Let the private sector pick up the big bill, and let us all accept that some people that can’t afford the big, expensive insurance will die.
“If the goal is to provide good coverage to most Americans without breaking the bank”
That is not a morally acceptable goal. I am an individual, sovereign and sacred, and have no obligation to provide for another.
“Let the public plans pay for checkups, births, and CUREABLE diseases.”
No.
I just posted on this today!
End-of-life issues, paid for through an arrangement with private insurance is one thing. Me taking your money (through public insurance) to keep me or Grandma alive is another.
Kurt, you need to go find your own island. This country killed off the natives, cleared the land, built the roads and industry, and protects its borders with tax money. This tax money is taken from most people to provide for all people.
If you don’t like this way of running a government, you need to find one that lines up with your own ideals. However, it seems you don’t mind others providing for you in some ways…
“This country” did nothing. INDIVIDUALS did everything, and they got their due when they picked up their paycheck/received their wages/were paid for the property they sold/etc. They’re entitled to nothing more, and so I owe them nothing more.
To the extent that “other people” provide for me, it’s because of a coercion-free mutually agreed-upon arrangement we entered into that each one of us was free to refuse without losing something that was already ours to begin with if we didn’t like it. To the extent I use functions paid for with taxes, I guarantee you that the benefit I have received from those doesn’t even come close to exceeding what has been illegitimately been stolen from me in the form of taxation. All I’m doing is cutting my losses since at the moment I haven’t succeeded in eliminating taxation, but I’d prefer not being a victim of collectivist theft altogether.
Yuck! and get off my lawn!