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Friday, November 06, 2009
Thomas Sowell :: Townhall.com Columnist
The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part IV
by Thomas Sowell
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What is so wrong with the current medical system in the United States that we are being urged to rush headlong into a new government system that we are not even supposed to understand, because this legislation is to be rushed through Congress before even the Senators and Representatives have a chance to read it?

Arguing
with Idiots By Glenn Beck

Among the things that people complain about under the present medical care system are the costs, insurance company bureaucrats' denials of reimbursements for some treatments and the free loaders at hospital emergency rooms whose costs have to be paid by others.

Will a government-run medical system make these things better or worse? This very basic question seldom seems to get asked, much less answered.

If the government has some magic way of reducing costs-- rather than shifting them around, including shifting them to the next generation-- they have certainly not revealed that secret. The actual track record of government when it comes to costs-- of anything-- is more alarming than reassuring.

What about insurance companies denying reimbursements for treatments? Does anyone imagine that a government bureaucracy will not do that?

Moreover, the worst that an insurance company can do is refuse to pay for medication or treatment. In some countries with government-run medical systems, the government can prevent you from spending your own money to get the medication or treatment that their bureaucracy has denied you. Your choice is to leave the country or smuggle in what you need.

However appalling such a situation may be, it is perfectly consistent with elites wanting to control your life. As far as those elites are concerned, it would not be "social justice" to allow some people to get medical care that others are denied, just because some people "happen to have money."

But very few people just "happen to have money." Most people have earned money by producing something that other people wanted. But getting what you want by what you have earned, rather than by what elites will deign to allow you to have, is completely incompatible with the vision of an elite-controlled world, which they call "social justice" or other politically attractive phrases. The "uninsured" are another big talking point for government medical insurance. But the incomes of many of the uninsured indicate that many-- if not most-- of them choose to be uninsured. Poor people can get insurance through Medicaid.

Free loading at emergency rooms-- mandated by government-- makes being uninsured a viable option. Continued...

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About The Author
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of The Housing Boom and Bust.
 
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Healthcare cost
As it stands now according to the CDC the US spends between 15-16% of gross domestic product for healthcare. This is nearly twice as much as other industrialized countries and we still have poorer health outcomes (US ranks 36th in life expectancy, infant mortalitiy, etc.) and we still have 46 million uninsured. That is unsustainable. At some point the numbers of uninsured will increase driving up the cost of premiums for people with insurance. As healthcare cost escalate, it will eat up more and more of GDP. There will come a point where no one except the very rich will be able to afford healthcare. The argument between right and left really boils down to the role of gov't. Those of us on the left believe that gov't should do for people what they cannot do for themselves. Example: The US has one of the best interstate freeway systems in the world. It allows for goods to be transported all over the country relatively cheaply. The right believes that gov't is very inefficient at providing direct services and that should be left to business. Can anyone imagine a corporation or group of corportations building an interstate highway system? Its the same with healthcare. We need to spread the cost out over as many people as possible so that we can have healthcare when we need it. We can even make the case for insuring illegal immigrants. Most undocuments are healthy men. They would contribute to the insurance pool. They would take out far less than what they put into it. These are the folks who are keeping social security afloat. They put into the system but never collect. The fact is there is no free lunch. Any healthcare is going to be paid for by us the people reading this column. The right relies on lies and distortions but has no viable alternatives.

Tommy you have no idea
First, I would support anyone who wanted to sign up to medicaid to do so. So, sick middle class people without insurance would not have to either go bankrupt or go without necessary medical treatment. I also would expant eligibility for VA benefits. Medicaid and the VA are not the greatest healthcare by and large -- but they are much better than nothing. Some very good doctors work at the VA because of patriotism. So, you lie (in the words of Joe Wilson) when you say that I want a single payer national system. By the way, you probably have no idea that the 30 or so developed countries with universal coverage do not all "do it" the same way. If we had a system like the Swiss, Germans or Irish you could not say it is a takeover of healthcare -- while if we had one like the UK you could say that. The US spends way, way, way more per person on healthcare than any other country. The British government spends less per person than our government -- and our government only covers military, medicare and medicaid eligible people -- less than 50% of the country. Don't take my word for it, simply look up the facts rather than calling me some sort of liberal. Namecalling is way easier than looking something up.
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