Be Careful What You Ask For

Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it. Truer words may have never been spoken now that America decides how to solve its healthcare crisis. There is no doubt that most Americans are frustrated with the current healthcare system. It is a disconnected mixture of public, private and commercial parties that frustrates all parties.

This public’s frustration is growing and politicians sense an opportunity to take advantage of this angst. Momentum is building for a government run, universal healthcare system, much like those found throughout Europe and Canada.

In Michael Moore’s recent film Sicko, which ridiculed the US’s healthcare system, he claimed that 50 million of our fellow Americans lack health insurance. In addition, he continuously mocked the US by stating that it was a travesty that the world’s richest country does not provide “free” healthcare to its own citizens like the Britons, Canadians, French or even the godless Cubans.

A few facts get in the way of his arguments.

Let’s look first at the 50 million uninsured. According to the Cato Institute, of the 50 million, 9 million of these people earn over $75,000 annually. They can afford coverage but don’t buy it. It is their choice. Some 18 million are healthy 18-34 year olds known as the “young invincibles”. Healthcare insurance is not a priority for this group. Shockingly, another 14 million fail to enroll in Medicaid and other low income programs. That leaves 8 million Americans who chronically lack coverage. While 8 million is too many, it is a far cry from 50 million. The facts would suggest that we could modify our current system to include the chronically uninsured while preserving the innovation and choice inherent in our current system.

The second argument Moore makes is to disingenuously refer to universal healthcare as “free” healthcare. This is an outright lie and misrepresentation of the facts. As we all learn at a tender age, nothing is free. The Brits, Canadians and French purchase their free healthcare through taxes. In America, 44.7 percent of health expenditure came from tax funded government programs. In Canada that number was 69.8; in France 78.4 and Britain, 86.3 percent. All of these countries face huge deficits and rising tax rates due to the burden of their healthcare costs. So much for “free” healthcare.

The entire logic behind turning to the federal government for healthcare is puzzling to me. Why would I want the federal government to determine the amount and quality of my healthcare? Where has the government ever show the ability to outperform the free market in these areas? There are three factors I want concerning healthcare: quality, timeliness and affordability. Where does the government outperform the private sector in these factors? Let’s look at the simple act of mailing a package. The government has been doing this for a long time.

If you have a really important package that must be delivered the next day, do you go to the government run post office or to the commercially run FedEx? Sure the post office is cheaper but you really never know when the package is delivered and you don’t even have the option of a next day by 10AM. This kind of service and innovation is driven by the private sector, not the government sector. The Post Office never even considered, much less figured out how to meet these delivery demands. They had a generic product and the consumer had no choice. FedEx found a way to meet the demand at an affordable price.

Now let’s say the doctor has found a lump in your lungs. Do you want to wait a few weeks or months to get an MRI? In Canada it can take several months to get an MRI scheduled. I don’t want to wait. I want it done quickly and I want the best equipment possible. I am even willing to pay more for it. Another thing to consider, which system (private or government) invented the MRI in the first place. One guess. It was not Canada.

In fact, we have a real live example of government sponsored universal healthcare right now in the US. It is called the Veterans Administration. The government decided long ago to provide healthcare for our Veterans. Our VA system is a perfect example of a government-run, universal healthcare. It wasn’t a few months ago that the news was filled with stories of VA hospitals in disrepair and patients that were neglected. How many of you would swap the ability to go to your local doctor or hospital for the government run VA system?

Our current healthcare system is frustrating and in some cases it is even broken. However, I would caution everyone to thoughtfully consider the alternative. Scrapping a consumer led commercial system for a government run healthcare system is no sure thing. In fact it may have serious unintended consequences.

If you think healthcare is expensive now, just wait until it is “free”.

Kirk is a member of the LaGrange Writers Group. He can be reached at jkirkhancock@yahoo.com