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Now Is The Time For Bi-Partisan Health Care Reform |
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Conservative Compass Blog
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Written by Bob Sordahl
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Saturday, 30 January 2010 |
 The game changing upset by Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race has essentially brought Obamacare to a screeching halt. Democrat leaders are hunkered down, worrying more about their political future than the well-being of their constituents. Hopefully the events of the past two weeks haven't misled Americans in their perception of Conservative philosophy on health care today. There is now an opportunity to bring fiscally responsible, meaningful change to our health care system. Conservatives and Liberals alike should not squander this moment. The time is now for real bi-partisan health care reform.
I don't believe even the most strict Conservative is so cold that they don't recognize a need for modification and improvement in the way we take care of our citizens. Having said that, it is important to acknowledge that nearly 80% of insured Americans are happy with their coverage, and don't want it to change. It is also important to acknowledge that each year, many Americans are financially drained by catastrophic illness. It is inconceivable that this County cannot figure out a way to help citizens who face ruin because of unmanageable medical bills. We support many entitlement programs from food stamps to rent subsidies to school lunches and tuition assistance. Certainly a catastrophic medical entitlement could be managed without looting the Treasury, and would be widely supported by the citizens of this Country.
Health insurance is not the problem. The cost of health care is. Insurance companies are not evil. They are businesses operating with the goal of generating revenue and profits for their shareholders, and no one is forced to buy insurance (at least not yet). These companies provide a service to their customers at an agreed upon price, just like an attorney or accountant. When Government seeks to meddle in a business transaction between buyer and seller, the free market suffers. If Government steps in and pays insurance premiums with taxpayer money, the laws of cost and demand are violated and providers are no longer encouraged to keep prices down.
It would be far better to work on the causes of high health care costs. Tort reform to limit the cost of malpractice insurance would shave millions of dollars. Working to limit uninsured, non-urgent care in hospital emergency rooms would significantly lower expenses that are normally passed on to insured patients. Allowing importation of lower priced drugs and the ability to shop for insurance in other states would lessen the financial burden on Americans as well.
Finally we must agree that certain diagnostic and treatment measures are by their nature expensive. America has the best medical care in the world, but it comes at a price. Research and innovation is costly, and when exported to countries that limit what can be charged, the only way to recoup investment is through higher prices domestically. This Administration is always keen on pursuing "what is fair". How about making the rest of the world pay its fair share for technologies being subsidized by the American people? Under such a requirement, their socialized medical systems would probably collapse within a couple years.
The point of all this is that there are a ton of valid ideas to make healthcare more affordable and available to the American people, that won't destroy our current system or cost us trillions of dollars. The ill-conceived juggernaut of Democrat health care reform is now at a standstill and in danger of total failure. That multi-thousand page quagmire of regulation, new bureaucracy and pork deserves nothing better than removal from life support, but if we let health care reform crash and burn never to be resurrected, it will be nearly as bad as passing Obamacare. There are things that can and should be proposed, and now is the opportunity for the "best and the brightest" in Washington to get to work on it regardless of their Party. Now that the insane rush to pass Obamacare is off, it truly is time for fiscally responsible, common sense, bipartisan health care reform.
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