Battle4Liberty

No healthcare system is perfect, but ours is already the best in the world. Here are 4 questions we should ask anyone who seeks to change it:

1. Does the proposal require that EVERYONE getting coverage pay a significant portion of the bill? Healthcare is expensive and the truly poor might need some help, but EVERYONE must pay as much as they can before the taxpayers are asked to contribute. NO ADULT WITH ANY INCOME SHOULD BE EXEMPT FROM PAYING. Any help provided by taxpayers must come ONLY after the individual pays all he can. And it should go without saying that ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD NOT BE COVERED BY ANY PUBLIC PLAN.

2. Does the publicly-funded program ration care as much as possible? Yes, I said ration. Taxpayer-subsidized healthcare should be rationed. Those getting help should have high deductibles and should be required to take the least expensive option available, which limits choices of hospitals, procedures, doctors, and medicines. The goal should be to provide the most cost-effective level of care, nothing more.

3. Does the proposal strengthen the private market? Government-administered programs WILL REDISTRIBUTE INCOME AND WILL RATION CARE, as already evidenced by programs such as Medicaid and SCHIP. Government involvement should be minimized so that rationing only occurs among those without private coverage.

4. Is the proposed program financed in part by reductions in payments for services? This is a real gimmick. One way or another, doctors, hospitals, drug companies, and other providers must be paid. These private health care providers must NEGOTIATE payment schemes with insurance companies, but the government simply underpays, shifting part of the cost to others.

Obama’s plan fails #1. He insists that there should be exceptions for low-income Americans, which means that the producers will end up paying for their coverage, and the definition of “low income” will rise over time.

Obama’s plan seems to fail #2, although he is short on specifics. The notion that non-payers should have access to the same healthcare that others pay for is economically unsustainable.

Obama’s plan fails #3. His “public option” program cuts payments for services, requiring providers to make up the difference elsewhere.

Obama’s plan fails #4. He openly asserts that reductions in payments will help finance the system. Those with private insurance will subsidize those with the “public option,” creating an incentive for everyone to go public. In the end, we’ll get a single-payer system.

DON’T BE FOOLED. Those on the left are not just interested in basic healthcare assistance for those truly in need. They want the “producers” to pay for most or all of the tab. To them, the healthcare “crisis” is really just about redistributing income.