Obama has stated that he doesn’t want government to take over health care. Instead, he wants something “uniquely American.” That is, a public alternative, paid for with tax payers’ money. If people want to, they can keep their own doctors and keep their former policies. This public option will compete with private insurers and keep prices down all across the board.
Well, it sounds fantastic. How could anyone oppose such a great piece of legislation?
This is how: when the government starts a program, it doesn’t have to worry about turning a profit. It just has to make the program seem like it’s working. So when the government creates a “public option” for health care, you can bet it’s going to be cheap. A lot of people are going to go along with it. Obama says private companies will compete, but how can they compete with a program that has a seemingly endless flow of tax payers’ money?
Private insurance companies will start to drop employees and go out of business. Hospitals and organizations will have to start paying their workers less. Doctors will leave their jobs in search of something that pays better. Eventually, the “public option” will be one of the only options.
We’ve seen that government run health care just doesn’t work. When people have to pay little, or nothing at all, for medical care, they’re going to take advantage of it. In Canada you can get lots of treatments for free. The catch is you may be waiting for your treatment for a few days…or weeks…or months. People who would have been able to afford treatment may have to wait for an indefinite period of time before they can be seen.
Private companies should be the only option for health care. Competing companies allow for the best treatments at the lowest costs. A government option seems like a great plan, but it’s really just wishful thinking.
Categories: Economics, Individual Rights, Politics
Tags: America, Canada, Competition, Government, Health Care, Insurance, Obama, Politics, Private, Public, Tax payers
In order to raise more money for Obama’s extensive health-care system, Congress is planning on passing a bill that will fine Americans for not buying affordable medical coverage. Individuals that don’t do what the government wishes will get a bill for over one thousand dollars. Apparently, this idea is based on something that Massachusetts has already been doing. It doesn’t make sense to me. People should not be fined for refusing to get health insurance.
Congress says that certain people will be exempt if they are too poor to get coverage, so anybody who has money will be required to get medical coverage or pay the fines. Once again, the government thinks it’s being Robin Hood. But Robin Hood didn’t steal money from those that had worked for it; he stole from those that had cheated and stolen money themselves. When government takes from the rich and gives to the poor, they are righting wrongs that aren’t wrong at all. Everyone deserves their own money. Why should the poor take the money that the rich earned?
Of course Obama is happy about this bill; he says it “reflects many of the principles I’ve laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick.”
If insurance companies are forced to cover people that have pre-existing conditions, they are going to lose money. They aren’t just denying sick people coverage because they don’t like them; they are trying to stay in business. It’s unfortunate that people with pre-existing conditions have a tough time getting insurance, but it is not the government’s responsibility to step in. Individuals should have the choice to help their fellow man or not. I would certainly help out a friend of mine if he or she had a life-threatening condition, and I trust that this is the case for many other people. However, man is not his brother’s keeper; he has no obligation to help people he hasn’t even met.
This is a totalitarian action; big government is stepping into our lives. Individuals should decide if they want coverage or not. It is not the government’s place to come in and tell Americans how to live their lives. Government is becoming more successful every day in convincing Americans that their money is actually our money.
I see the contradiction. I hope you do. It is your money. It is your life.
