I went canvassing with a group for Ron Paul last weekend. We went door to door asking people which presidential candidate they would vote for and if they had heard of Ron Paul. Then, if we didn’t get a door slammed in our face, we asked them what issues would determine who they would vote for. Most people who gave any answer at all actually said that they didn’t know. (How sad is that?)
But the next most popular answer was healthcare. I could tell that they had seen Obama’s and Hillary’s commercials about a national healthcare plan. I tried to convince them that the more government gets involved with healthcare, the worse things get. When the Medicare program was started, prices went up. When Bush started the prescription drug program, drug prices rose sharply.
If a hospital or doctor wants to charge you $150 for a band-aid, most people will say, “Who cares? I’m not paying for it, the government is.” But you will be paying for it one way or another. Taxes could be raised to pay for it. The government could create more money to pay for it, (which would cause inflation). Or we could pass the buck to the next generation. Any way you slice it, you’ll pay big time.
I realize that most people have health insurance plans that would pay for the $150 band-aid. This is a big racket. So people already say, “Who cares? I’m not paying for it, my insurance company is.” But the way to combat this is by choosing doctors who charge for inexpensive individual procedures out-of-pocket and choosing insurance plans which have high deductibles or cover only expensive procedures. This would drive down prices and reduce this price-gouging. It’s ridiculous that state attorneys general go after various corporations for price-gouging, but not the healthcare system. Not they should, but this is so hypocritical.
But the next most popular answer was healthcare. I could tell that they had seen Obama’s and Hillary’s commercials about a national healthcare plan. I tried to convince them that the more government gets involved with healthcare, the worse things get. When the Medicare program was started, prices went up. When Bush started the prescription drug program, drug prices rose sharply.
If a hospital or doctor wants to charge you $150 for a band-aid, most people will say, “Who cares? I’m not paying for it, the government is.” But you will be paying for it one way or another. Taxes could be raised to pay for it. The government could create more money to pay for it, (which would cause inflation). Or we could pass the buck to the next generation. Any way you slice it, you’ll pay big time.
I realize that most people have health insurance plans that would pay for the $150 band-aid. This is a big racket. So people already say, “Who cares? I’m not paying for it, my insurance company is.” But the way to combat this is by choosing doctors who charge for inexpensive individual procedures out-of-pocket and choosing insurance plans which have high deductibles or cover only expensive procedures. This would drive down prices and reduce this price-gouging. It’s ridiculous that state attorneys general go after various corporations for price-gouging, but not the healthcare system. Not they should, but this is so hypocritical.
At least the insurance companies have to compete with one another, so they have some incentive to keep premiums low. But if you think things are bad now, just wait until the government totally monopolizes the system. If the government covers everyone, then it will have to cover people who take foolish risks with their health. So we will all be forced to pay for their stupidity.
I found a video that makes us happy about our health care. I know it's not the best and most countries have universal health care...but not all. If you haven't seen this video you should really have a look.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mybluecollar.com/videos/b6b4c4af18
Thanks for sharing this video with us; I read some other reviews about health care crisis on several blogs.
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