Obamacare means less Freedom
Joseph McHugh
July 29, 2009
The health care bill going through Congress now, if passed, means less freedom for the American people. Whether youīre for this bill or against it, that is the plain fact.
Maybe you love this bill. Maybe you think itīs perfectly necessary. But it will mean less freedom. And Americans need to know that.
Private insurers will be driven out of the market because the so called "public option" will make it impossible for them to compete economically. You will have less freedom to choose an insurance plan.
Doctorīs will be required to see patients covered under the government plan. Just like with Medicare they will have no choice. More importantly they will not be able to set their own rates. They will be forced into accepting the governmentīs rates (what choice do they have?) The government, faced with the exploding costs of all the new entrants into the market, will try to curtail prices by paying doctorīs less. What will doctors have to do in order to maintain any profit? Itīs very simple; they will cut back on services.
You the consumer will be given less freedom to choose different medical options. They simply will be uneconomical for doctors and hospitals.
Moreover, in order to further control costs, the government will need to make decisions for you regarding what treatments you get.
Ironically, considering President Obamaīs egalitarian principles, it is only the very wealthy who will be able to afford and make decisions regarding their health. They will be able to afford the exorbitant costs of private care. They will flee to wherever they can get the operations and procedures that are not available here. The rest of will be stuck.
Again, you may love this bill to death, but donīt kid yourself about whatīs going to happen to you.
With this vast loss of freedom, one is entitled to ask-is it worth it? What problems are we trying to solve through a major restriction on our freedom?
People complain about some 45 million people not covered by insurance. But columnist
George Will offered the most succinct analysis of this situation:
"That number is, however, a "snapshot" of a nation in which more than 20 million working Americans change jobs every year. Many of them are briefly uninsured between jobs. If all the uninsured were assembled for a group photograph, and six months later the then-uninsured were assembled for another photograph, about half the people in the photos would be different.
Will continues: "Almost 39 percent of the uninsured are in five states -- Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, all of which are entry points for immigrants. About 21 percent -- 9.7 million -- of the uninsured are not citizens. As many as 14 million are eligible for existing government programs -- Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, veterans' benefits, etc. -- but have not enrolled. And 9.1 million have household incomes of at least $75,000 and could purchase insurance. Those last two cohorts are more than half of the 45.7 million."
People complain about the costs of medicine. But what is the source of these costs? Medical costs exploded after the passage of Medicare in the 1960īs Why? Government spending opens the floodgates to new entrants into the market, and this increased demand boosts prices.
Think about this. In every other high tech area of the economy prices begin at a very high level and then gently come down. Think about how affordable computers and iPods have become since they were first introduced on the market.
In the private sector, absent government controls, prices for any new product begin high and gently come down over time. But in the areas most controlled by the government, housing, health, and education, the opposite is true.
And donīt kid yourself. We do not have a free market in medicine today.
What we have is a heavily regulated system. Everything from the number of doctors to the number of hospitals is carefully planned. HMOīs are a government creation. And the massive government spending on health distorts the market even more.
And more government controls are not the answer.
But the ultimate question you have to ask yourself is: Does your freedom matter to you?
Maybe you love this bill. Maybe you think itīs perfectly necessary. But it will mean less freedom. And Americans need to know that.
Private insurers will be driven out of the market because the so called "public option" will make it impossible for them to compete economically. You will have less freedom to choose an insurance plan.
Doctorīs will be required to see patients covered under the government plan. Just like with Medicare they will have no choice. More importantly they will not be able to set their own rates. They will be forced into accepting the governmentīs rates (what choice do they have?) The government, faced with the exploding costs of all the new entrants into the market, will try to curtail prices by paying doctorīs less. What will doctors have to do in order to maintain any profit? Itīs very simple; they will cut back on services.
You the consumer will be given less freedom to choose different medical options. They simply will be uneconomical for doctors and hospitals.
Moreover, in order to further control costs, the government will need to make decisions for you regarding what treatments you get.
Ironically, considering President Obamaīs egalitarian principles, it is only the very wealthy who will be able to afford and make decisions regarding their health. They will be able to afford the exorbitant costs of private care. They will flee to wherever they can get the operations and procedures that are not available here. The rest of will be stuck.
Again, you may love this bill to death, but donīt kid yourself about whatīs going to happen to you.
With this vast loss of freedom, one is entitled to ask-is it worth it? What problems are we trying to solve through a major restriction on our freedom?
People complain about some 45 million people not covered by insurance. But columnist
George Will offered the most succinct analysis of this situation:
"That number is, however, a "snapshot" of a nation in which more than 20 million working Americans change jobs every year. Many of them are briefly uninsured between jobs. If all the uninsured were assembled for a group photograph, and six months later the then-uninsured were assembled for another photograph, about half the people in the photos would be different.
Will continues: "Almost 39 percent of the uninsured are in five states -- Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, all of which are entry points for immigrants. About 21 percent -- 9.7 million -- of the uninsured are not citizens. As many as 14 million are eligible for existing government programs -- Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, veterans' benefits, etc. -- but have not enrolled. And 9.1 million have household incomes of at least $75,000 and could purchase insurance. Those last two cohorts are more than half of the 45.7 million."
People complain about the costs of medicine. But what is the source of these costs? Medical costs exploded after the passage of Medicare in the 1960īs Why? Government spending opens the floodgates to new entrants into the market, and this increased demand boosts prices.
Think about this. In every other high tech area of the economy prices begin at a very high level and then gently come down. Think about how affordable computers and iPods have become since they were first introduced on the market.
In the private sector, absent government controls, prices for any new product begin high and gently come down over time. But in the areas most controlled by the government, housing, health, and education, the opposite is true.
And donīt kid yourself. We do not have a free market in medicine today.
What we have is a heavily regulated system. Everything from the number of doctors to the number of hospitals is carefully planned. HMOīs are a government creation. And the massive government spending on health distorts the market even more.
And more government controls are not the answer.
But the ultimate question you have to ask yourself is: Does your freedom matter to you?
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