AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE—IT’S JUST PLAIN PATRIOTIC

By Edwin Cooney

Okay, here it is: Despite three decades of tax cuts for business, the source of America’s medical care system, medical care costs have gotten way too high for most of us. Therefore, in the face of the lack of an effective check on these costs, most citizens believe something has to be done.

On the campaign trail last year, we heard countless stories of people who needed medical treatment and couldn’t get it due to the high cost of insurance coverage. Meanwhile, insurance premiums and medical care deductibles continued to rise.

Whether or not public healthcare is a human “right”, or socialistic, or even sufficiently effective is beside the point. I assert that it’s simply a question of good citizenship.

Historically, the opponents of healthcare legislation have asked the American people if they wanted government to get between them and their doctors. Historically, the American people have said a resounding “no”. So, the “free market” has had predominance in this area of our national life.

The problem is that the “free market” either can’t or won’t control its costs. Historically, there’s nothing new in this. The “free market” (or “free enterprise system”, if you prefer) once had the opportunity to wisely administer pay scales and safety conditions in the workplace and refused to do so — hence the rise of the labor union movement. At one time, private enterprise had absolute control over the sale of pure food and drugs and chose to sell cheap and rotten goods — thus, the pure food and drug act of 1906 was enacted. At one time, “private enterprise” or “the free market” had a monopoly on selling electric power to hardworking farmers and small businesses, but it refused to find ways to adequately finance the distribution of its goods and services — hence it was necessary to have public utility agencies and regulations. At one time, banking and investment had the chance to be both profitable and honorable. Too often, however, honor can be only a phase while profit always pays -- thus the need for the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulations.

Too often the same people who insist that you should be protected from an encroaching federal government insist that unelected insurance executives have your best interests at heart far more than your fellow Americans whom you elect to public office.

The answers to the following set of questions should take us beyond the traditional arguments regarding government-regulated healthcare. Since healthcare costs are too great, what mechanism (aside from public healthcare) could be utilized to bring costs down? If affordable healthcare isn’t a worthy public issue, how can it be a legitimate product for insurance companies? If the cost of uninsured citizens utilizing medical facilities is the main reason why insurance premiums and deductibles are increasing, wouldn’t we be better off if everyone had some form of coverage that pays into the system?

As I’ve asserted many times, I love politics and most politicians. However, it seems to me that if a society possesses the means but lacks the will to keep its citizens safe from the ravages of disease because politicians are reluctant to do whatever it takes to provide the funds or an alternate system, then shame on those politicians.

Of course, the money to pay for anything worthwhile ultimately has to come from those who have it -- but what’s wrong with that so long as the mechanism established to provide the service the money is paying for works? No one is suggesting that the solution to the healthcare crisis is to make paupers out of the rich any more than healthcare advocates are suggesting that affordable healthcare ought to be free. If government care is really and truly a question of principle, why then do all of these true “red, white and blue” congressmen and women accept healthcare benefits paid for by the government? They could still buy into private plans as government employees! Perhaps government care really and truly does work.

As I see it, the real issue is money and profit. If, as it was agreed to about three weeks ago, the American Hospital Association can afford to return to the economy about 150 billion dollars over the next decade, then there must be a healthy margin of profit within the existing system. Healthy profit margins are perfectly acceptable, but huge ones are both obscene and -- frankly -- unpatriotic.

If the free enterprise system that claims to create wealth in America won’t keep the people well, then let’s “conscript” it just as we conscript our youth in wartime!

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

EDWIN COONEY