Health Care II

What do I think should have been done?

What do I think can be done if and when we repeal this garbage legislation?

First and foremost, the solution should not be government based. As in most economic-based problems and initiatives, government needs to get out of the way. It’s just a speed bump whose size depends on how badly your elected leaders wish to meddle in your affairs. Regulate, by all means, and protect the little guy. That’s fine. We have more than enough laws currently on the books that are not enforced. But the answer cannot be centered about the government.

So what can be done?

Since I find this whole issue tiresome but feel obligated to comment in light of yesterday’s post, let me just list three items I’ve heard and read about that make intuitive and reasonable sense to me.

1) Allow consumers to buy health insurance over state lines. From what I understand, this is one of the main reasons auto insurance is so competitive and thus relatively cheaply priced. Also, not subject to crazy State mandates.

2) Allow consumers to pick the particulars of their insurance policy. If you don’t expect to have gender reassignment surgery, why pay for it? If you don’t expect to need mental health treatment, why pay for it? If you’re a single man, why be forced to have pregnancy coverage? You get the idea.

3) Put caps on punitive damages for cases brought by ambulance chasers. Maybe establish some type of “loser pays” caveat to discourage frivolous lawsuits. Many of which are settled out of court because it’s cheaper, but it only raises everyone’s costs in the long term.

There. That’s it. What’s the downside of these three points, exactly? Why not implement them? Surely premiums would go down, resulting in affordable health care for individuals and families and for employers to offer their workers. That’s the goal, isn’t it?

Isn’t it?

The solution is consumer-driven free-market capitalism. Sure, there will be abuses, so that’s why the government takes the role of police officer, making sure everyone plays nice. It does not become the main player. Just open up any Economics 101 text book and read about monopolies. That’s exactly what Obamacare is directed toward: government monopoly. If you don’t think so, I ask you to address my twenty points in yesterday’s post. I challenge you to convince me differently.


(Thought experiment: Consider any founding father – Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, Washington – and ask yourself, “Would this man prefer Obamacare or a free-market capitalist solution to the health care crisis?” I would love to have a journalist with a spine and a full set of balls ask the President this question, and enjoy watching him hem and haw and filibuster and enthusiastically go off on tangents and, finally, get exasperated over the Mean Question and play the victim card … )