Issue Position: Health Care Reform

Issue Position

We have the best Health Care System in the world. We cannot afford Socialized Medicine. We have to fix the economy first, and get our financial house in order. Then we can truly reform our Health Care System. The Congress and the President are trying to rebuild America by spending money that we do not [...]

We have the best Health Care System in the world. We cannot afford Socialized Medicine. We have to fix the economy first, and get our financial house in order. Then we can truly reform our Health Care System. The Congress and the President are trying to rebuild America by spending money that we do not have. Is this the legacy that we want to leave our children?

Reform means to improve a system, not to radically transform it into government run health care. Do we want the same people who gave us the ponzi scheme of Social Security, the incompetence and corruption of Fannie Mae, the insolvency of Medicare, the chronic financially troubled Post Office, the Katrina fiasco, and the incredible cost overruns of the Big Dig to take care of our health? I say a resounding NO! God bless America, and God save America.

We have the best health care system in the world. Over 80% of Americans are happy with the excellence of their care. Are there some problems that need to be addressed. Sure, there are issues such as affordability, portability of health insurance, preexisting conditions, emergency room issues, shortage of personnel, etc. We can address those when we solve our financial crisis. We must then do it with thoughtful deliberation, and after much discussion and debate. Then we can make the necessary improvements to make a good system even better. Right now we have several versions proposed, over 1,000 pages for the leading contender, complicated issues, the possibility of federal bureaucrats and a no-accountability health care commission that will design the details, and then the federal government will run the show. The mad rush into socialized medicine is a prescription for disaster.

We cannot afford a National Health Care System. It will make the current problems worse. It will ultimately lead to rationing, longer lines, and it will cause a further shortage of doctors and nurses. Our elderly will go from being the first priority, in our current system, to last on the list. Your 90 year old grandmother may not even make the list. The main issues, medical malpractice insurance and litigation, lack of competition, and government mandates and regulation, are not even being discussed. Everyone will see their taxes go up. Small businesses will be especially hard hit. Abortion will be thrust upon all taxpayers. Hospitals of faith will be forced out of the health care industry. There will be a massive invasion of privacy unlike anything that we have ever seen. Do not forget about end-of-life counseling. It was also just announced that they want our veterans to put their lives on the line again . . . for the good of the country. The Congress and the White House will have their own separate elitist system. That should tell you all you need to know right there. Americans do not want government health care, and they do not want a system that devalues life.

We already have a single-payer system. It is called Medicare. It is insolvent, and it has 89 Trillion Dollars of unfunded mandates. We need to greatly reform the current system, and minimize government participation. We do not need another monstrous federal bureaucracy to take care of our health. That will surely bankrupt America! Three states have already gone down this road. Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Maine have tried it, and they have all been dismal failures. Costs were supposed to go down. Instead, they have gone up dramatically. Massachusetts has seen costs rise by 23%. I suspect that it is much higher than that. Maine has only added about 3% of the uninsured to the system since 2003.

Americans want a Health Care System that is an improved version. They do not want the government to run it. They want a system that is more affordable, is patient driven, has more choices, is safer, more portable, accessible to all, quality oriented, one that promotes healthy lifestyles, and one that remains the best in the world. HR 3200 will eventually bankrupt America.

My Solutions

Tort Reform - The number one reason why health care is much more expensive in America than anywhere else in the world. We need meaningful tort reform. Our elected representatives and the President have not even talked about it. The law firm of Obama, Biden,Edwards, Dodd, and Frank do not want it.

Preventive Care - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Much greater emphasis on preventive care, nutrition, and natural cures.

Increased Tax Deductions -- Especially for families

Open Insurance to Interstate Competition -- This will greatly reduce the cost of health insurance. Consumers will then buy what they need from the state that has just what they want and nothing more.

Reduce Administrative Costs - Cut out unnecessary regulation, implement new technology, and streamline health care. Estimates are 12-48% of the cost of admin with HMOs at the higher end.

Reduce fraud - Eliminating Medicare will save billions in this area alone.

Require 2nd and 3rd opinions on expensive procedures and prescriptions with an eye on reducing operations and prescriptions. Doctors must be part of the solution.

Stop requiring Hospital Emergency Rooms to treat non-emergency cases -- let public-private clinics handle it.

Charge countries of origin for the health care costs of illegal immigrants. Hospitals will be reimbursed by the Federal Government. The money could also come out of foreign aid outlays.

Private-Public partnerships to meet the needs of the homeless, indigent, low income people such as the Neighborhood Health Care System in Seattle, WA which is a national model system.

Incentives for healthy lifestyle choices. You pay more if you insist on engaging in risky behavior.

More cost sharing so individuals have more investment in the game. Patients will then pay more attention to the bill.

Eliminate preexisting conditions or waiting periods for health insurance.

Make money off other countries that currently have socialized medicine. Many more of their patients will be coming here for their treatment.

Make catastrophic coverage available to everyone with lots of options to reduce cost.

Expand medical savings accounts.

Let market competition determine prices. Allow more companies in like GEICO.

Remove all regulations put in to stifle competition.

Balance the budget, strengthen the dollar, and eliminate the corporate tax. Business will be happy to provide health coverage.

Reduce greatly the Federal Income Tax burden so people do not have to choose between paying their taxes or having health insurance.

Gradually reduce government involvement in our health care, and let the free market work its magic. Americans do not want socialism. They want liberty, choices, economic independence, and less government. The medical profession is only part of the problem. Government overspending and interference in the markets is the real problem.

Government has become too big, too powerful, and too intrusive in our lives. It is time to downsize government and rearrange federal priorities. Now is not the time to give it more power. This is not about Democrats or Republicans; it is not about liberals or conservatives. It is about common sense. It is about what is best for our great country. It is about the legacy that we are leaving our children. It is about making our current system even better, and accessible to more people. Large intrusive government is more problem than solution. The proper role is to maintain our security and protect equal rights. The best government is the least intrusive and least harmful. Thomas Jefferson once said that were the government to tell us when to plant wheat, then we should soon want bread. Government is the disease masquerading as the cure. Socialized medicine anyone . . . not on my watch!

Source