I recently had a medical diagnostic test done on an outpatient basis.  When I received the bill, I found that the hospital initially had billed $750 for the procedure, my insurance company had negotiated a deal with the hospital that reduced the bill to $300, and then it paid $30, leaving me $270 to pay out of my pocket.  I pay $1,000 a month for this kind of coverage?  What a crazy system!  Why is it such a mess?

While our health care system is very complicated, it really is not that difficult to understand why it is so messed up.  Most people understand that free market competition brings us the best quality of goods and services at the lowest prices, and yet we have done almost everything in our power to destroy the free market in health care.  No wonder it isn’t working!

For example:

          *We severely limit the number of doctors who can be trained and admitted to practice, thus greatly reducing the opportunities for competition among doctors. 

          *We create many roadblocks to restrict the construction of new hospitals and clinics, thus greatly reducing the opportunities for competition in that arena. 

          *FDA regulations make it extremely expensive and slow to introduce new medicines and medical devices, again reducing competition. 

          *Medicare and Medicaid have socialized more than half of the industry, putting those services under direct government control and out of the free market. 

          *Our tax laws, which give tax deductions to businesses but not to individuals who buy health insurance, put control of our health care in the hands of our employers rather than in our own hands, maximizing the doctor/insurance company relationship at the expense of the doctor/patient relationship and eliminating the incentive for consumers to control costs. 

          *Doctors and hospitals have effectively become enslaved, as they are required by law to provide services at no charge to those who cannot afford to pay for them. 

          *Numerous laws have been passed regulating health care insurance, so we are forced to insure a wide range of conditions if we want to have any insurance at all, thus making health care insurance extremely expensive and out of reach for many people.

Many people are now suggesting that the way to improve the system is to go to a “single payer” system, which means going the rest of the way toward putting our health care under complete government control.  They say that the free market has not worked for health care, so socialized medicine is necessary.  But the current system, which we all agree is a mess, is nothing like a free market system; it is, instead, already very close to being completely socialized.  If you don’t like the totally screwed up, mostly socialized medicine system we have now, just wait until we go the rest of the way! 

The free market brings us the best in computers, restaurant services, transportation, and a wide range of other goods and services, so why do we do everything we can to destroy it in the most important aspects of our lives, such as health care?  (Just imagine government-controlled and operated restaurants and grocery stores, and you begin to understand why our health care is such a mess!)

When there is a free market, consumers are in control, and providers have to strive to meet the needs and demands of consumers in order to stay in business; however, when the government is in control, as it largely is now in health care, all kinds of sweetheart deals can be made between the government and the politically powerful at our expense. 

A Few of the Deals for the Government’s Sweethearts:

*Texas recently required all middle school girls to receive a new series of shots to prevent cervical cancer, at a cost of about $400 per girl.  Since this is not a disease that can be caught through casual contact, one might wonder why governments would even consider forcing these vaccines on young girls, but that would only be if one forgot about all the benefits the lobbyists for Merck can spread around for their pals. 

*Several years ago, Kentucky passed a law requiring all health insurance policies to cover a huge number of conditions, which drove a large number of insurance companies out of the state, to the benefit of the few sweethearts such as Humana and Anthem who remained, and to the detriment of consumers. 

*Now, many old-line manufacturing companies like Ford, which have large liabilities for health insurance, are trying to unload those responsibilities -- shifting them to the taxpayers by making the government responsible instead. 

Valentine’s day is near, but I’d prefer to choose my own sweetheart, not have my elected officials decide whom I have to kiss on the lips (or elsewhere), thanks very much!

Unfortunately, most voters do not understand what is happening.  They are unhappy with the current system, are afraid of the escalating health care costs, and mistakenly believe that they can escape the problem by putting it in the hands of the government.  But that is the worst thing they could do!

There is no escaping the problem.  There is no free lunch, and there is no free health care.  While costs can be hidden, there is no way to avoid them.  In the end, doctors and nurses must be paid for their services.  Somebody has to pay for hospital buildings, electric bills, sheets, syringes, and expensive diagnostic equipment.  Research and development of new drugs and medical devices are expensive.  We know we are always the ones who end up having to pay the piper.  The only question is who will be in control. 

If we want to improve the situation, we must put consumers in control of their own health care dollars.  This would dramatically improve the quality and cost of our health care, making the system more efficient and effective for all consumers – rich and poor alike.