After the Bust

Ok, now I understand why this healh care plan is going to be so expensive.  12 million foriegn aliens are going to get free coverage, yes, that makes sense.  If we buy some additional printing presses the U.S. Mint can run the ones that we already have and the new ones faster, and we can print enough money to cover everyone with health insurance in both North and South America.  Why not?  It’s a great idea.  Talk about good international relations!

I guess not guarding the borders well will now be a whole lot more expensive than it used to be.  For every undocumented alien who gets into the U.S., the health care cost will just keep on going up.  I have to say that if I were thinking about moving back to the U.S. given the proposed coverage I would do it for that alone.

It used to be that being a citizen of the U.S. meant something, but I guess that now it does not.  I can hardly wait to hear what happens when they turn away veterans and people who are paying massive taxes because the services are being soaked up by those who are here illegally.  That should turn out to be an interesting sight.

I don’t know about you, but I think this is a terrible proposal that has been added to the plan.  Health care coverage was never supposed to be about taking care of everyone, it was about taking care of U.S. citizens who could not afford coverage.  If we do not know who is a citizen, that is a failure that must be fixed before we move forward.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Have you ever started to wonder what is going to happen to our health care system if one of these proposed plans ever reaches the light of day?  Pundits say it is “impossible” for the proposed plans to cause the termination of Medicare because it is “so popular.”  There is, however, no way to float a national health care system without destroying anything that is good about the one we have. 

It will be some trick if a  government sponsored national health care plan manages to survive without creating massive supply and demand distortions.  I’m still trying to figure out how my doctor, who I struggle to see when I need him, is going to take on twice as many patients as he now has and still provide me with a valuable service.  Most of the time I currently see his Physician’s Assistant or his Nurse, so if he doubles his load I will only bee seeing a medical tech of some kind.  I might as well just buy a good medical book.

I am also interested in knowing why my employer would be willing to continue to pay for my somewhat expensive health care coverage when he knows that I could at any time go on a much cheaper federal plan. 

As I have noted on this blog in the past, I’m not totally against changing the system that now exists.  I think the system is not being run in our best interest, how can it be when it is a puppet that belongs to big insurance companies?  Health care is one of those sacred areas where capitalism just shouldn’t be.  Do we need to make a buck on everything?  Years ago society left health care to health care providers.  Now it is run like a consulting business and you will find that, unless you are wealthy, you simply can’t afford those top shelf services that you may absolutely need.

A restructuring of the health care system is relatively easy.  Fix prices for services, and have the prices associated with hard costs . . not associated with lost profits as they are today.  Get the insurance companies out of the health care industry once and for all, but don’t substitute the government, that’s crazy.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The lines are being drawn for the Senate battle on Mr. Obama’s health plan.  I know that the government systems that I have seen overseas provided inferior quality, inferior to what most of us have come to expect from our system.  On the other hand, I have seen my health insurance increase to the point where it makes my mortgage payment look reasonable.

So part of the question is, do you want to continue down the path that you are on, with private health insurance companies taking huge profits and increasing premiums to the point of absurdity, or should things change?

The war of words going on in the press today has pitted the greedy insurance companies against inept politicians.  The insurance company representatives, usually highly paid Doctors, keep telling us that the government will turn out to be worse than they are.  I think that is rich, don’t fall for government control of the health care system because they will screw you worse than we have . . great defense guys. 

While there are some individuals who are lucky enough to have lifetime coverage, most of us will hit a point where we can no longer afford it.  I have read that you need $ 200,000 to $ 300,000 in savings just to pay health insurance premiums if you want to retire.  That means if you are not one of the lucky few who have paid lifetime coverage or who can pay the discussed premiums from savings you will also suffer the same fate, health insurance cancellation.

Personally I don’t think the argument that doctors will leave the industry in droves because they won’t be able to get rich is a farce.  If you provided even a portion of the excess that is going to insurance company profits you could increase what doctors received, and then maybe they could make more decisions based on what is best for patients and not on what is best for the Big Bucks Insurance Company profits.

I hate to see more government intrusion into the health care market, but if you talk to people who think the government is there as a last resort to help them, for example veterans or helpless elderly individuals, you will find that they are shunned if they can’t pay monster premiums.  Many people are fooled into thinking that existing programs help people when the help is minimal or non-existent.

The question, do you need health insurance, can more easily be answered with a resounding no than an impossible to achieve coverage yes.  If you can see in the relatively short term future that health insurance premiums, that now cost a typical family at or above $ 8,000 per year, may become unaffordable.  Then there really isn’t much decision making with regard to the changes being presented.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Can you see what is on the horizon, looks like $11 a pack cigarettes, higher unemployment, higher gas prices,  the implemenation of a large value added tax (VAT)  increases and all while we are struggling to get through one of the most difficult time in years.  Many have already succumbed to living with increased stress.

I don’t have to tell you how bad stress is for you physical and mental health.  There are hundreds of articles and books already written about strees and the negative effects that it can have on your life.  Stress can make your life much more difficult, and ultimately it can bring you down.

Watching television and listing to radio doesn’t help, most of the popular shows take one side or the other, telling us how much better change will be or saying that we are headed into deep water with the changes proposed.

While I don’t think “don’t worry, be happy” is an entirely appropriate direction, I do think that simplifying ones life is a good idea.  Getting rid of excess baggage in our lives like expensive, gas eating toys is not a bad idea.  Do you really need that second boat or camping trailer?  How long has it been since you got on those ATV’s or motorcycles?

How about making a serious run at your boss regarding working from home?  Even a day or two a week would cut commute time, gas expenses, clothing costs and generally make you life less stressful.  If not, how about trying to get the work week shortened to four 9 hour days?  It takes an effort, but if you can find ways to increase the quality of your life by managing your time better, you will likely decrease your stress.

Popularity: 20% [?]

How can the U.S.A. via President Obama or via another leader create a healthcare system that would provide services to the masses?  The answer is simple; just control costs, exclude insurance company participation and consistently provide only services that are truly needed. 

I’m not going to argue that such a system would be better than a system based on economic principals; the rich will always find a way to get better healthcare services than the poor.  The system proposed parallels in some ways the system found in some Socialist countries, they work but they generally provide fewer and lower quality services.

You start by offering services via large centrally located clinics.  Yes, you may have to travel to be seen.  The clinics would have no glitz, no marble floors and no impressive towering arched entries.  You get your services in plain, functional facilities.  Everyone first sees a Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant.  Many for profit clinics are already being run by these healthcare professionals, and the savings to a system for the masses that employed them would be substantial. 

Next, if you want a healthcare system that actually works, you must remove insurance companies from the mix.  You don’t need insurance company involvement in a not-for-profit government sponsored system of healthcare.  While insurance companies do a good job of controlling costs in the current system, the savings / profits are retained at the expense of participant services.  In my opinion they would add no value to a government sponsored healthcare system.

Once someone is diagnosed with a health problem, which may have to be completed with the assistance of higher level medical professionals and tests, patients could be provided treatment.  Again the treatment provided would be by the lowest level provider necessary.  Even the for profit healthcare system now in place in the U.S. will run you out of a hospital in the blink of an eye.  You likely would not perceive much of a difference between the current treatment that you receive from a “for profit” provider and the service you would received under a government sponsored provider.   

Like many things that government does, running a sponsored healthcare system for the masses could be devised that offered the government limited liability.  The government could draw a line at some arbitrary number, like $ 20,000 per case, and if there are errors made, that amount would be the most that you could collect.  A government sponsored healthcare system could not work if everyone who wanted the cheap services could sue the government sponsored system for millions.  If you are willing to accept the low cost services you have to accept that the quality would likely be lowered.  This is again, not a new idea, limited liability is already in place for many government activities.

If you are looking forward to the day when the healthcare system covers almost everyone, you are looking forward to a day when our quality of care will be lowered.  In the end, it will depend on your perspective.  If you didn’t have insurance coverage, something is better than nothing.  If you did have insurance coverage, you may find that a government system for the masses does not provide you with the quality of service that you were used to.

Popularity: 22% [?]