Interesting read today from the Investor’s Business Daily. The editorial brings up the more -than-somewhat curious point that Congress will not be subject to the public health care plan that they are presenting. Here’s my favorite line of the editorial:
The irony here is that under the health reform he is sponsoring, it is unlikely that Sen. Ted Kennedy would have gotten the treatment he needed for his brain tumor if his case had to be reviewed by some cost-effectiveness board. The likelihood is that if Ted Kennedy were British and subject to the tender mercies of that nation’s National Health System, he’d be dead by now.You can read the full editorial here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Egoscue, Free, Government, Health, Healthcare, nashville, Pain, Pain Free
Well, no. Kennedy would get the same care. Because he’s wealthy and regardless of how things shake out he’ll be able to afford millions of dollars of treatments to extend his life.
You can’t do that for everyone. You can’t pay out more than is paid in. Otherwise you are borrowing (stealing?) from future generations of taxpayers who will have to accept a lower standard of living – either through higher taxes or as a result of inflation. There’s only one thing you can spend enough money on to make a difference given how much is paid in to the system: prevention. Be it vaccines, neonatal care, environmental/industrial pollution policy, or diet (we can start by no longer subsidizing the production of the least healthy foods).
Curiously, one alternative that has never been discussed is a government plan that would pay for any and all preventative care. If you want anything beyond prevention you have to buy health care yourself. Prevention is cheap, so it would cost the government less. We can expect the private insurance costs to be substantially less because prevention is being done. Of course, this would lead to sharply lower revenues and profits for pharma and health care companies. But it would be better for individuals, companies, the country, and the economy.
The fact that whatever plan Congress proposes does not apply to themselves is completely and totally ridiculous. Either eat your own cooking or get out of the restaurant business.