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I'm not an obstructionist on the health care issue. I've felt for a long time that something needs to be done to make our current system of care delivery more efficient and less costly. However, I don't understand how anyone could want to do so at the expense of personal freedom, or the risk of breaking the financial backbone of this Country. The Libs once again are exploiting their power in the administration and Congress to bestow on the "receiving class" yet another benefit that will make them just that much more dependent upon Big Government and bigger taxes.
The administration started out talking about "health care" but has now shifted to a program designed to alter insurance coverage, costs and companies. Once again to forward their agenda, they have targeted a bogey man to vilify. President Obama has criticized the insurance executives "lining their pockets" with outrageous premiums, while refusing treatment to the most at-risk and needy among us. Worst of all, these bastards refuse coverage for those with "pre-existing" conditions. How can anyone be so cruel?
Why do you buy auto insurance? If you are like the majority of Americans, you do so in case someone blows a stop sign and T-bones your car, not because the car is already sitting wrecked in your driveway. Insurance is something you purchase to protect yourself from the unexpected, not to cover the costs of problems you already have.
I'm going to say something really radical here: Insurance is a for-profit business. The whole premise of insurance is to collect more money in premiums than is paid out in benefits. This is achieved by utilizing actuarial information. We know how many drivers of a certain gender and age are likely to wreck their car. We know how many people of a particular gender and age are likely to break their arm, catch the flu or get cancer. Insurance companies make or lose money depending on how much their customers deviate from the actuarial norms, and they charge a premium, the amount of which is based on your likelihood of doing so. That is how they remain in business.
Note to Congress: For-profit businesses are the economic engine of this Country. They are the entities that create jobs, pay taxes and make it possible for their employees to pay taxes and buy products. Without them, you have nothing but a Government printing press and so much paper. You would do well to support them rather than figuring out ways to tax them out of existence or turn them into Government holdings.
There is so much wrong with the health insurance bill currently rolling through Congress, it is hard to pare down to individual items, but the "pre-existing condition" issue is one of the most troubling. It is a component of both the Democrat and Republican plans, and it blows actuarial tables out of the water. There is no way an insurance company can stay in business if they are required by law to issue a policy to anyone who walks in the door regardless of their state of health. If putting the evil insurance companies out of business is the ultimate goal of this legislation, there is no question that will be the outcome and it will happen in a hurry. At what point have we decided health insurance should be a non-profit proposition? That will be the case at the moment this Congress, and by extension the American people decide that health insurance is a right of every resident of this Country, and that it is worth adding more trillions of debt to the backs of our hardworking taxpayers.
If we allow on demand "insurance" for pre-existing conditions, it is no longer insurance, but rather an entitlement. Our current government Medicare and Medicaid programs are riddled with fraud, corruption and are breaking the bank as it is. Do we really need another staggering entitlement program? If that is where we allow Congress to go with this legislation, we will all be forced into the Government program as our private insurance companies go broke fulfilling the mandate. If you think the Government can handle such a program for 300 million people, I suggest you visit your local VA hospital for an afternoon. That is Government health care in practice and you won't like what you see.
If we want to be compassionate and set up an entitlement for citizens with terminal conditions, it would be a lot less expensive and complicated than the disaster that Congress is considering now. Our current system is not broken and does not need to be gutted. Improvements can be made without destroying the health care and insurance system that almost 90% of Americans are happy with .
In America we have the best health care in the entire world. In spite of Michael Moore's opinion, that is why world leaders (and citizens of Canada and England), come here for care. The program Congress is about to force on us will not raise everyone's health care to some idyllic level of perfection, but rather lower everyone to mediocrity and Government inefficiency at incredible expense. Why would anyone want that kind of change?
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