The “12 Cent” Problem

Author: admin

George Will, brilliant fiscal conservative that he is, made the proverbial light bulb go off in my head last week with another great article he produced.  He again addressed the radical changes Obamacare would bring to America if passed by Congress.

I have long thought the Federal Gov’t has no constitutional right to be involved in Health Insurance.  Incrementalism has been the means by which the ideological socialists and world gov’t crowd uses to gain more control over the country and the American people undermining our constitutional republic’s foundations.  Trace the line from the 14th amendment to the Federal Reserve and the Federal Income Tax, to Social Security and on to Medicare and Medicaid.  Bush II added a prescription benefit to Medicare in spite of its expected financial demise by 2016.  Both parties have been involved in the process though the Reconstruction Radical Republicans, Wilson (and Col. House), FDR, and LBJ deserve the harshest criticism.  As a student of History and political science, I made it my business to know all of this.

Gov’t interference in Health Insurance has driven up costs by disrupting the free market of supply and demand in Medical Care.  America Medical Care is the best in the world.  All Americans have access to medical care through doctors, primecare facilities, and hospitals.  Ability to pay is the only prerequisite to higher levels of care. That is where the Left has sold a lie to the masses.  Does everyone drive a Rolls Royce; a Stutz Bearcat; a Ferrari; even a Cadillac or Lincoln TownCar???   No.  Some do; but most drive Chevys and Fords, Chryslers and affordable foreign cars.  A lot of people drive older model cars with high mileage.  What about homes???  Some can afford mansions in gated-communities; most live in average brick ranchers; some rent or live in mobile homes.

People understand the economic laws regarding autos we drive and homes we live in; where do people get the idea medical care is different– that it is some kind of entitlement we deserve in our quest to live forever.  That is where Will came in last week.  David Gratzer of the Manhattan Institute calls Employer-paid Insurance the “12 cent problem”.  Only 12 cents of every dollar spent on health care is spent by the person receiving the care.  “Hence”, Will says, “Americans buffet mentality– we paid at the door to the health-care feast, so let’s consume all we can.”

That is where the light bulb went off for me.  Get the Federal gov’t out of our health care system– yes.  Folks who have paid into Medicare should get its benefits, but it is going to go broke sometime soon.  Announce an end to the program and let young people begin looking for private sector alternatives.  Pay out as best as possible the generation that has paid into it.   States should cut Medicaid benefits 25- 40 % over a five year period.  The middle-age crowd (which I belong to ) has no right to hide their parents assets so the state can pick up the bill to pay for those aging parents’ care.  The elderly are not so special that they get to pass on their medical care bills to the next generation.

Next, and simultaneously, wean Employer-paid Health Insurance out of the economic marketplace.  Companies could cease providing insurance coverage for new hires effective at a new year.  They could then drop coverage as employees retire or pass away.  They could provide a 2yr window to allow current employees to find private sector coverage.  Private contractors (I sold insurance for 6 yrs and was a private contractor) and small business owners have always bought private sector coverage for themselves and their families.

Wages would increase with the weaning away of employer paid health insurance.  If the masses pay the full cost of health care, their eyes would be opened and demand could force changes to costs of coverage.  Healthcare providers see Uncle Sam as having bottomless pockets, but the average consumer has limits to their ability to pay.  This proposed remedy is not w/o pain. But, the current system is unsustainable; and the Obamacare solution is profoundly worse. It is more socialistic, more dictatorial, and will result in greater amounts of rationing of care. It is anathema when compared to the constitutional foundations of our republic and free market capitalis economic system.  Change must start somewhere but not what Congress is proposing currently.

Tags: 12 cent problem, David Gratzer, George Will, Government Healthcare Reform, health insurance, Manhattan Institute, Obamacare

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.