Dr. Alan Bates
The Obama Administration has switched from the abstract vacuum rhetoric called “Change,” which sucked many gullible types into his Koresh-like camp to “Deal or No Deal” demands upon his mindless followers in Congress in order to ram a flawed socialistic healthcare overhaul bill through before any of them have had time to read and digest the destructive nature of its contents. One real problem facing Mr. Obama is his arrogance (did you ever notice he cannot look below a 20 degree angle above the horizontal?) and his hypocrisy. Even many former Obama supporters have discovered his trickery to hide errors in judgment and defend a bad piece of legislation. Let us briefly review a few of the problems a single payer government run healthcare system presents to America.
First is the financial aspect which OMB has projected will cost at least $900 billion ADDITIONAL dollars and by other estimates up to $1.5 trillion on top of all the unthinkable national debt our Congress has already incurred for us and our children. The Administration’s response to this potentially fatal flaw is to say it will be a “break even” situation, but when one looks into that argument one sees the bill quietly removes $500 million from an already financially faltering Medicare program and diverts that to caring for the “47 million uninsured.” They use other tricks as well to hide the gargantuan costs of implementing such a plan.
Secondly, as to those “47 million uninsured,” there is no uninsured "crisis" as the number of impoverished uninsured numbers roughly 5 million when one excludes those folks who CAN afford insurance but elect not to purchase it, plus the illegal aliens who number about 13 million. And importantly the cost of uninsured care is 2 percent of the total cost of American health care. The studies show that they don't suffer ill health because of lack of insurance.
That brings us to the third problem. The bill plans to include coverage for those who are living in America against federal law, meaning the taxpayer picks up that tab. Did we already agree on amnesty when I was sleeping?
As a physician, it is my view that the Administration and its cronies in Congress want to scrap the best and most available medical care system in the world and replace it at huge expense with a government “option” that creates a mere 55 new federal agencies and a giant budget to fund that expansion, claiming this will salvage a “failing healthcare system,” which we all know works quite well for about 85 percent of the population (according to recent polls). Like all Federal interventions, such a system will not be limited and will not bring about more cost effective care. As with all past government run programs, it will cost more than projected triggering government to cut back on services and quality, and result in rationing of care to certain people out of necessity just like other socialistic government run systems around the world. Even the non-practicing physician brother of the President’s chief of staff – Ezekiel Emanuel – who has been appointed to work with OMB in how to implement the government un plan, has in speeches and writings as a bioethicist stated that he believes those “who no longer are contributing citizens” (read “elderly” or “disabled”) should not receive expensive medical care since that money would be better spent on younger, more productive citizens. Is this Orwellian or what?
This discussion would not be complete without pointing out the disinformation promulgated by the Administration through the major liberal television networks and newspapers designed to hide the truth about their plans for America. These media outlets embody tactics which play down the true objectives of this legislation by constantly diverting attention to a relentless attack on conservatives, wholly irrelevant to the bill, while using inaccurate comparisons and projections to accomplish their “Death to American Capitalism” plans for the rest of us. Healthcare is their second target after having floated the “cap and trade” idiocy which still must pass the Senate before it can become law. Some of their favorite stats include how badly America trails other countries in life expectancy and infant mortality, when a more in-depth look reveals that the reasons have nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of America’s healthcare system. Rather, it is all about different countries using different definitions and methods for counting and reporting, as well as a smaller component related to poor lifestyle habits in the United States (the obesity epidemic which has doubled in the past 20 years to 40 percent of the population). Just keep in mind that we must think for ourselves rather than believe the rubbish manufactured by those who value power over personal liberty.
In summary, the average American considers healthcare the most important service available and has come to expect high quality and efficient service. Our system provides the most available and most advanced care in the world in contrast to nations whose healthcare systems are government-run, such as Canada and Great Britain, where citizens are trying to bring back to life certain private sector initiatives similar to ours. There is no doubt that should a government-run single payer system displace the private insurance industry that costs (and taxes) will rise for all Americans and care will be rationed for several reasons, not the least of which will be a crisis in number of physicians as many would not accept less pay than what it costs them in overhead (the current problem with Medicare and Medicaid). One must never forget that it was through the incentives which capitalism provides that the private sector has developed the best technology in the world for both diagnosis and treatment of complex conditions which prolong lifespan and without the long wait times which plague Canadians – many of whom come to America and pay out of pocket to get the care we enjoy.
Finally, those who advocate government control of every aspect of our lives place no value on liberty and the right to pursue the American dream. In the case of healthcare “reform,” the realistic non-intrusive solution rests with Congressional promotion of competition in the private sector across state lines, a limited subsidy of the private sector for providing coverage for the uninsured at reasonable rates, lifting cost prohibitive preexisting conditions restrictions, and the as yet “untouchable” tort reform – not a socialist takeover engineered and rushed through Congress by the Administration and Democrat majority which gains them control of one-fifth of our economy and unfettered invasion of our privacy.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Alan Bates writes for Gulf1.com (from which this article was printed with permission). Contact him at abb@gulf1.com.
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