Posted by
Andrews on Monday, May 05, 2008 8:25:30 PM
I have heard that we learn from experience, but daily politicians prove that is not the case.
For example, let us look at McCain's proposed health care plan. Of one facet of his plan. He wants to provide $5000 pe family or $2500 per individual to provide health insurance.While this sounds wonderful, all it will succeed in doing is driving up health insurance costs about $5000 per family.
Do I hear anyone doubting this? Then explain why college tuitions rise by exactly the amount student loan caps are increased. BY providing $5000 extra dollars McCain will not extend coverage to anyone. The insurance companies are businesses, and they want to maximize profits. How best to do that? They can either keep prices the same, accept all those new $5000 family plans, and also expand their costs by all those new enrollees, or, they can raise family plans $5000, gain no new members and just pocket the federal subsidy.
Which sounds like a better business model to you?
Oh, those who get the $5000 will find insurance. I am sure a lot of fly by night, cut rate $5000 per family insurers will appear offering the bare minimum to qualify as an insurer under the federal plan. That we are getting less than $5000 of coverage for our $5000 in tax dollars will be quietly ignored, as the politicians will be able to boast of a "free market solution" to health care.
How is this for a solution?
1. Stop tax breaks for employer health coverage. That is the sole reason so man y of us have employer coverage. If we all bought our own coverage, or paid out of pocket, prices would of necessity be more competitive, and likely lower.
2. reduce federal regulation of medicine. the restrictions on which hospital can get equipment, for example, actually keeps us form enjoying economies of scale that broader distribution of technologies would bring. While the argument is that new technologies raise prices, in reality the opposite is true in the long run. We are excessively regulated in the area of medicine.
3. Reduce the amount of federal health coverage. Medicare, medicaid, and other plans are a losing proposition for doctors and hospitals. They make money on some cases, but in the long run they end up losing more than they gain. And where do they make up those losses, from the rest of us.
4. Institute common sense tort reform. A simple redefinition of reasonably foreseeable and standard of care would be enough to bring malpractice insurance down from astronomical heights it has reached. As we demand of doctors near perfection to avoid suits we are generating our own costs. And it does nothing to help prevent accidents, or to really reimburse those who are hurt. It is nothing but a lottery for patients, funded by doctors, with the lawyers being the big winners in the end.
Of course, I would go farther and actually ask for a real free market solution,
without any government regulation or federal or state provided insurance, but many would not go along with me, so I will stop with the four points above. It isn't perfect, but compared to what we have now, just getting those four changes would be fantastic.