National Healthcare - A Convoluted Suggestion

With Edwards out of the race, Clinton is now free to steal his own proposals. It doesn’t seem like much of a coincidence that weeks after he departs the race, she is suddenly expressing a willingness to garnish people’s wages to pay for healthcare. She claims this would only happen to those that can afford to pay. But we really need to consider how hard the government works to ensure that Americans can afford what they think they can afford. What she says in this video sounds very nice, but she fails to address some things I find important. Will the uninsured with pre existing conditions be able to purchase insurance, as they now can't unless under the blanket of an employer?

I myself, due to the illness of my husband, have been forced to economize and utilize government programs. Unfortunately, all the programs that I really could have used at the time were not available to me. Why weren’t they available? Well, because before this time, we were financially very stable. We had built a house, owned land, and two running cars. We also had a savings account which they deemed quite healthy, in reality, it would pay the mortgage and car payments for one month. All of these things were held against us and we were denied these services, never mind that they were being offered to people who were making no effort to improve their lot, or get off the illegal drugs they were addicted to. All that mattered was that we were trying and that was held against us.

So how would Hillary’s plan determine who can afford to pay for insurance? Is this plan going to consider how much the individual pays out in loans acquired prior to their lapse in coverage? Is it going to consider the cost of living where the individual lives, or have a baseline at which point all must be enrolled? Even I, country bumpkin that I am, know that there is a massive jump in the cost of living in say, Ohio and the cost of living in New York. Maybe it will be as successful at no child left behind?

Clinton, Obama, and all of the Republican candidates fall short of my idea of a good healthcare plan. Why can’t anyone propose a single payer plan? This is how Medicare is run, and it works just fine. In fact, Medicare is about the best argument we have against those that say national healthcare will ruin the quality of healthcare. But consider how many hospitals would be going bankrupt if they weren't overrun in the emergency rooms. What if they were paid for everyone treated, and those in the emergency rooms had actual emergencies. In fact, a single payer national healthcare plan would probably work just as well as Medicare if properly funded. Americans have money deducted from every paycheck to pay for Medicare when they aren’t even receiving the benefit of it, wouldn’t they be even happier if such a deduction came with a benefit?

The truth is that there won’t be single payer national healthcare programs because it would not benefit the insurance companies, which is what we all really care about right? Consider this, the cost of a CT scan is not determine by, oh say, how much it costs to run and read a CT scan, rather it is determined by what company insures the patient. As in patient A insured by insurance company B allows X amount for a CT scan, so they are charged X amount for the scan. However, patient C who has insurance company D is only allowed Y amount for a CT scan, so patient D will be charged Y amount. I guess that means the hospitals are shooting themselves in the foot. I’m sure they are only overcharging to pay for those ER patients that can’t pay right?

By now you’ve probably figured out that I’m running in circles. The cost of healthcare is exploding. Companies justify it with the cost of new tests and treatments. I suppose negotiating a better price for these tests and treatments is out of the question. Doing this might take a chunk out of the profit margin of the companies offering the tests and treatments. We all know the drug companies simply can’t afford another financial hit. They need to keep that money to pay for the lawsuits caused by they drugs they forced onto the market knowing full well they had dangerous side effects.

As for doctors, for the most part I have respect for them, I really do. They spent loads of money going to school and invested a good part of their brain in it too I imagine. But I’ve had enough of putting these people, yes people not gods, on a pedestal. Tell me this, why are they accepting bribes from drug reps? What benefit is there to the patient when a doctor is wooed by a drug rep and a fancy dinner? Do they really need those free pens and notepads? I wasn’t aware the budget was so tight that they couldn’t buy their own. Shouldn’t they be more concerned about what is in the best interest of the patient?

And so I come around again. Really, the only conclusion I can reach is that a single payer national healthcare is the only solution that can fix the majority of these problems. Politicians won’t be suggesting it though, so don’t look for it. Also, don’t credit me with the single payer national healthcare idea I've just mentioned, thank the host of Blast The Right podcast, the man does his research.