I haven’t seen this idea floated anywhere, but last night during an ah-ha moment, I thought to myself...why not? It solves more problems than just paying for Insurance Reform, it eliminates this ridiculous bureaucratic nightmare created by Nixon that creates as many problems as it solves.
The Obama Administration, with support of Gil Kerlikowske, the current Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Eric Holder, have decided not to use the term "war on drugs" because it puts emphasis on incarceration instead of treatment. What better way to focus on treatment than to include a strong drug rehabilitation program in the new health care legislation?
The DEA budget has grown from 65.2 million in 1972 to 2.6 billion in 2009. Yet illicit drug use among people 12 and older has remained relatively stable since 2002.
What if we shut down the DEA to pay for part of health insurance reform?
Plan Specifics:
We use 1.3 billion to support state and other federal programs.
- Let the states handle their own drug enforcement policies. We could subsidize their efforts and give bigger subsidies to border states.
- Move interstate commerce issues back to the FBI and issues with foreign governments back to the Diplomatic Corp
and the CIA.
We use 1.3 billion a year to pay for real healthcare reform, not a half-ass version that I fear is going to really hurt us with young people because of the mandate and watered down version of health insurance that the under 24 would receive. With DEA funded reform we put a huge emphasis on drug prevention/rehab and mental health services which would actually help us with young voters.
Now I understand that 1.6 billion is a long way from paying for the whole package, but maybe it’s enough to make the package worth passing and the Obama Administration’s emphasis on rehabilitation could become a reality.
Another good link on pros/cons "war on drugs."
Oh, and off topic: There’s been all this talk about not using Medicare reimbursement rates because it creates and uneven playing field, consequently, the PO should get a mandate too: all federal employees. That would even out the risk pool on the PO and actually give it a chance for success.