Rationed Care

There is a lot of confusion about the current state of the Health Care System in the United States of America, leading many to think that the only solution is the Universal Health Coverage option being pushed by the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress, among others, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Are there problems with Health Care in the United States as it stands today? Sure there are, but why? Well, some of it is pretty easy to understand, and once the problems are understood, it's easy to see how those things could be remedied, without turning the whole thing over to the Government.

The first thing that most people can understand without much trouble is quite simple, litigation. That is to say, lawsuits with huge judgments that cause all doctors to need malpractice insurance that costs tons of money and drives up the cost of Health Care for everyone. Judgment limits, or penalties for people filing frivolous lawsuits would make a drastic dent as it is one of the largest areas of waste in the entire Health Care System.

A second problem started with total coverage insurance. That is to say that some people having insurance that is too good has been part of the problem. This can be a little more difficult to understand, so let me explain. As good as it seems to most of us to have great insurance, with no deductible and no, or very low copay, this leads some people, possibly even a great deal of people, to run to the Doctor or ER for every sniffle or hangnail, which further increases the cost of Health Care, again, for everyone.

Then there is the issue of the uninsured, one of the biggest places that the Statists tries to convince us that we need the Government to step in and take over, by telling us that there are 50 million uninsured people in the United States that just simply have no access to Health Care, and, they would have us believe, are just dying in the streets. There are so many lies surrounding this part of the issue that it's almost difficult to see all of it. First of all, the very number is a lie. This number of people comes from the Census data, and includes people that were uninsured for a very small window of time, after losing a job, or some such reason, as well as people who are offered insurance by their employer, or can afford to purchase it on their own, but choose not to, mostly because they are young, healthy people who feel they can better use the money in other areas, and are willing to take the risk. Very few of these people are chronically uninsured. Besides this, around 10 million of the 50 million number are illegal aliens. The second part of this lie is the idea that even those who are unable to get Health Insurance are also barred from receiving medical care, however, current Federal laws require that all people who come to any Emergency Room must be evaluated and receive any required treatment. Are there people who fall through the cracks? Probably, but they are the exception, and not the rule.

The other side is what actually happens when such a plan is put in place. We need only to look to Britain and Canada. It doesn't take much to find British news stories telling all of the horror stories about how terrible this system is. Basically, it amounts to rationed care, that is to say, someone sitting in a cubicle somewhere deciding who receives treatment and who doesn't. The Government never does anything efficiently, so the idea that the State running Health Care is going to reduce cost and increase the amount quantity of care available is an absolutely insane idea. The fact is that they will likely increase cost even more, and limit the quantity of care available, but let's assume a best case scenario where the quantity of care stays equal to what it is right now, they are telling us that there isn't enough now, so there wouldn't be enough then either, meaning that someone will have to decide who gets it, and who doesn't, and if it's all considered free, the demand will increase, which will further limit the supply. The elderly will be hit first, and then likely the children. Those with the most political influence will receive the best care, because Health Care decisions will not be medically based, but rather politically based, just as is everything that a Government does is politically based.

The truth is that universal Health coverage, provided by a Government equals rationed care, not enough care, and a far worse system than what we have today.