SodaBoy.Net

I recently used someone's facebook account to have an all out flame war on health care reform, and as would be expected the leftists that supported the national catastrophe currently (yes still) in the hands of congress brought up some predictable points. Being that some people may live in a cave or are still in the powerful grip of Obama-Cult I think it may be a good idea to debunk a few myths surrounding a national system.

Myth #1: Other countries do health care cheaper and more effectively.

The WHO is notoriously referenced as a source to justify this stupidity.  The infamous WHO rankings are based on subjective indicators having very little to do with quality health care such as:

Fairness of financial contribution
Distribution of Financing
Distribution of Health in the Populations

So, as long as you have a health care system in line with a socialist philosophy you'll rank just fine regardless of quality of care- which is why countries like Portugal rank higher than the US.  I have family in Portugal and spend a decent amount of time there- the system is a joke.

Then there are other studies that “definitively prove” the US system is horrible using indicators like infant mortality and health care costs.  What these studies don't tell you is that other countries measure certain variables like infant mortality rather creatively (there appears to be some disagreement when to count a dead baby as a dead baby).  They get more creative when it comes to reporting their health care costs.  When you actually get to what counts (public opinion about health care, how satisfied people are with the care they receive, actual treatment outcomes) then things become a bit more interesting.  To get a really good understanding of how big the lie really is you may want to check this out.

Myth #2: Nationalizing health care will control costs.

It really is quite hard to say this with a straight face given the enormous financial disaster that Medicare and Medicaid turned out to be along with the back to back CBO reports that stopped just short of calling the bill a sad joke.  Nationalizing health care does nothing to solve the root cause of increased costs. In fact, this “cure” is much of the same fuel that caused the fire in the first place.  Health care costs are high for several reasons:

1.Ironically enough, you and I pay more for private health insurance because programs like Medicare and Medicaid do not competitively reimburse for services their consumers utilize. Costs through these programs are kept artificially low and health care facilities need to recover their costs somehow.

2.I almost fell over when Obama talked about how doctors practicing defensive medicine were driving up health care costs and that a lack of rationing (essentially what he said) was the issue. Those infomercials were funny. What he neglected to tell you is that the reason doctors are so test crazy has to do with ridiculous law suits.  It is not unheard of for Doctors who have never been sued to pay well over $100,000 for malpractice insurance.  So who exactly does a litigious medical environment benefit?  Trial Lawyers of course and guess what party they favor. The current plan does nothing to resolve the root cause of this problem and the fact that the left is trying to spin it as indicative of a need for socialized healthcare is bizarre.

3.Illegal Immigration. Really not much to say here other than these folks use emergency rooms for everything.  They have no coverage and hospitals have to go elsewhere to recover their losses. Guess who ends up paying for it.  Last I heard there wasn't anything that addressed illegal immigration in the new health care bill.

4.Employer based plans are a hold over from another American socialist's (FDR)  policies of wage and price controls. The current system essentially forces people to pay for coverage packages that may offer way more than what is needed. Additionally states have added and are continuing to add coverage requirements to plans that increase costs while offering little to no benefit for the majority of covered individuals.

Myth #3: There are 47 million uninsured Americans creating a health care crisis.

The left in power doesn't even believe this themselves but says it every now and then so that Obama-Cult can feel good about itself.  Actually, the number reported by the census is closer to 45 million. About 9 million of the 45 million are illegal immigrants that shouldn't be here in the first place. Another 9 million include individuals who make over 75k a year and who did not choose to purchase health insurance. That leaves about 29 million (9% of the US population), many of whom are employed and chose not to participate in their employer or state plan or are simply in between jobs.

Add to the mix that no one is really denied care in the US and the use of the word “crisis” to describe the situation seems a bit dramatic.

Census Data

Myth #4: You will get to keep private insurance

The public “option” is not an option but rather part of a strategy the leftists had in dismantling our healthcare system some time ago.  The game goes like this:

1.The public option offers lower reimbursement rates than private plans.

2.Healthcare providers recover costs by increasing rates where they can (private plans).

3.In order to fund the public option, taxes will need to be increased on those paying for and being covered by a private plan.

4.People in private plans are wondering why they should pay more for their healthcare when they can get the public option for "free". They start switching – eventually taking down private options and leaving the US with a single payer system.

The rest is how I see this play out.

5.Reimbursement rates remain low creating disincentives for people to become doctors, nurses etc as cost recovery now has to be realized in cuts v. price increases.

6.Reduction in doctors and services creates need to ration care.

7.91% of the country just got switched to horrible healthcare coverage because 9% may or may not have been able to get coverage. A certain percentage of 9% are now being forced to pay for health care coverage they didn't want in the first place.

8.The left wing just increased their political base by creating a whole new kind of dependency.

Hell, the leftists in the House didn't even try to hide it it in the original bill.  The famous “page 16” essentially stopped people from being able to enroll in private plans.

I probably forgot a ton of stuff but Ill add to this as time goes on.  Leeches of Congress are heading back to those they screw on a daily basis so this should still be on the radar until they get back to “work”.