It's agreed that health reform needs to take place, but the question is what type of reform do we really want – increased government intervention or a private market solution?
? Will we continue to buy our healthcare in the free market or will we allow the government to take over our health care system? Every government solution calls for increased regulation and government control.
Healthcare isn't expensive because of insurance – it's the other way around. Insurance has become so costly because of the increased demand created by unhealthy lifestyles and the cost of medical goods and services it pays for. Injecting more government into the healthcare system by creating a public insurance plan will only make things worse.
Most Americans do not want government-run health care, but a public takeover is the ultimate end to any government solution.
Private market reform solutions focus on creating competition and transparency to reduce or eliminate fee increases. The government solution for reducing or eliminating the increase is government control over healthcare providers. This is called government-controlled health care, one where the government owns hospitals and physicians are employees of the government. This creates a healthcare system in which care is rationed. Individuals need to be aware of the negative impact such plans will have on the quality of American healthcare. A government-run health plan would greatly diminish the improvements in treatment, research, development and innovation that Americans have enjoyed.
Take a look at the government run plans that we already have (such as Medicare and Medicaid). These will give you an idea of how a larger government initiative might look. They have controlled costs by artificially limiting payments. They essentially pay less than the cost of care. Medicare and Medicaid systematically underpay doctors and hospitals by as much as 20 percent. To make up the difference, hospitals and doctors charge consumers extra to make up for the Medicare underpayments. The average family of four is saddled with an extra $1500 a year in premiums. Also, Medicare and Medicaid funds are rapidly depleting and soon any funding will not be available.
Unfortunately, government health programs are only able to keep overhead down by shifting their costs to everyone else. A new public option would only exacerbate cost-shifts. Private insurers would be forced to increase their rates for cost-shifting. Eventually, private insurance would become prohibitively expensive. Since private insurers must cover their costs, they can't afford to run a deficit. A public plan, on the other hand, would have a direct line to a federal treasury funded by our taxes. It could price itself well below its true costs and operate at a loss. Over time, more and more Americans would opt for an artificially cheap, public plan. Private carriers would be forced from the market, unable to compete.
End result, public option or no option – we need to be sure that any reform chooses the path of a private market solution.
