A Health Care Catastrophe

The chart below represents a flowchart of the House Democrats' healthcare plan.  We can do much better than this.  Through free market solutions and competition, we can provide affordable coverage to all Americans that is efficient, accessible, and of the highest quality.

It's Time To Do Better

As Congress is on the brink of a massive overhaul of the healthcare system, the process can hardly be described as democratic. Backroom agreements and sweetheart deals represent nothing more than sheer bribery. The Senate leadership paid off Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Mary Landrieu (La.), showing their utter contempt toward the American people. 

In December, I spent three days in Washington D.C., discussing the problems of the healthcare system with current Members of Congress, healthcare groups, and advocacy groups. There was uniform agreement that the healthcare plan forced through Congress is a huge mistake. Though the Senate version of the bill is being hailed as a moderate compromise, the truth is that it represents a complete government takeover resulting in higher premiums and less coverage.

Consider the following:
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that premiums for struggling middle-class families will increase by $300 for individuals and $2,100 for families. This is a far cry from President Obama’s promise that his healthcare plan would reduce premiums by $2,500.

Furthermore, the CBO indicated that 10 million people will lose coverage from their employer-sponsored health plan. Add to that the millions of seniors who will lose benefits from Medicare Advantage plans. This contradicts repeated promises by the Obama Administration that individuals will not be forced to change health insurance plans or lose coverage.

In addition, the bill includes $2.5 trillion in debt-ridden spending, $400 billion in mandated tax increases that could reduce the hiring of low-wage workers, and zero restrictions on coverage of elective abortions. This is indicative of an ill-conceived, Democrat-driven debacle.

The existing healthcare system undeniably requires improvement. However, there are more prudent and fiscally responsible solutions than the current Congressional offering. We must provide efficient and equitable coverage that utilizes competition, free-enterprise, and limited government regulation.

Due to the multi-faceted and complex aspects of healthcare, solutions must be innovative and comprehensive. We need to make medical coverage affordable and accessible, and at the same time, guarantee high quality care and efficient delivery.

We Must

• Eliminate pre-existing conditions as criteria for denial of insurability.
• Utilize free market principles including selling insurance across state lines to lower costs.
• Create affordable catastrophic health coverage to protect consumers against high cost medical expenses such as cancer, serious injuries, complicated medical procedures, and multiple surgeries.
• Make more medical expenses tax-deductible, make personal health savings plans more attractive, and allow small businesses to pool consumers, which would make premiums more affordable.
• Implement comprehensive tort/malpractice reform to reduce the practice of defensive medicine, thereby lowering the overall cost of medical care.

 
Successful health care reform will require a commitment to preventive medicine, more efficient delivery of medical care, and innovative ways to better utilize health care funding. Without addressing these multi-faceted aspects of health care, no reform will be effective.