Over the next three weeks I want to talk about the state of the American health care system.
I’m not a politician, which means I am driven to solutions to real problems based on common sense and a desire not to fail. I learned this while serving in the military and perfected this in the private sector. Experience has taught most of us that no problem is so complex that a simple solution cannot resolve it. Obamacare, as the president proudly refers to the Affordable Healthcare Act, is not a simple solution, but it is quickly turning into the failure many of us warned against.
The success of any project is easy. Determine exactly what the problem is, if in fact there is a problem. Assemble a team best qualified to create and implement a solution. Define a plan with clear and concise benchmarks, and identify the people responsible for achieving each benchmark. Get a commitment by an overwhelming majority of stakeholders to help overcome any obstacles. Most important, keep it simple. If you can’t explain the solution in the simplest form, it is not a solution. Obamacare fails on all these points, but the neoprogessives who dropped this boondoggle in the laps of the American people are determined to keep pushing. Neoprogressives have failed to heed the words of Albert Einstein when he said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Obamacare is the result.
First, the problems. There were two easily identified problems with health care in America, and neither had anything to do with the level of service (but there is always room for improvement). American hospitals and medical professionals are considered the best in the world, a point ignored by those pushing Obamacare. The real issues were cost and the number of people uninsured.
Second, the number of uninsured. If you look at the numbers provided by the Census Bureau, the CBO, as well as other public or private agencies, roughly 8 million Americans (2.5 percent of the American population) did not and could not get health coverage. Too many on the extreme far-left chose to inflate the numbers of those who did not have health care coverage. The extreme-left floated uninsured numbers between 45 million to 50 million. That was a lie. When you remove the people who are in this country illegally (12 million), the people eligible for coverage under existing government programs but not enrolled (15 million), those who can afford to purchases health insurance but choose not to (mostly those under 30, another 10 million) you put the problems and issues in perspective.
Truly understanding who is uninsured and why was important because it puts us on the right path to solving the real problems. The architects of Obamacare were prepared and are going forth with a complete overhaul of the American health care system for .02 percent of the American population. Insanity.
Third, the cost. Yes, health care costs are high, but why? There are a lot of reasons given for this, including insurance companies, undue government regulations (or meddling), excessive lawsuits, poor health practices by many Americans, no transparency, or a lack of conformity between service providers, etc. But when all is said and done what helps keep costs down in every other part of our lives is not allowed to occur in our health care system, even before Obamacare. Disciplined, open free markets are the solution. All of the reasons I listed above are part of the problem because they stifle the free markets that have served us so well in this country. Cars, computers, TVs, cell phones, automotive/home/life insurance are better, cheaper, and not only more readily available than ever, but of greater quality because the American free-market system is allowed to thrive. The free market is the answer to our health care costs, availability and quality of service. Yes, I understand, health care is about people, but so is every other product within our free-market system.
I am not saying that government does not have a place in health care, but the footprint must be small and meant to serve the real problem. Our current system ignores the basic truths that have helped all of us live a more comfortable life. Competition, transparency and demand all result in better, less expensive and more readily available services and goods, while Obamacare only worsens the problem.
We tie health insurance to our employers, we demand one-size-fits-all insurance coverage, doctors don’t post their costs or offer discounts for regular, cash-paying customers. The government and the insurance companies (who were created as a by-product of government policies) stand in the way of the simple solutions that would go a long way to solving our health care issues.
Next week I will review the current failures of Obamacare, and why we need to repeal it.
