Many politicans supporting health care reform incorrectly state Health Care is a right. Health Care is a service and Health Insurance is a product. Neither can be construed as a right.
Additionally, politicans that espouse 47 million people do not have health care coverage knowingly deceive and mislead the public. What they fail to state is an estimated 10 to 12 million of those people are illegal immigrants, another 17 million live in households with incomes exceeding $50,000 a year and could purchase their own health care coverage if they chose so, another 18 million are between the ages of 18 and 34, most in good health and not necessarily in need of health care coverage. The numbers provided by Obama, Pelosi, Reid and others are substantively wrong and misleading. (note, data from Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny, pages 106-107)
Furthermore, I challenge anyone to identify where in the Constitution the people granted powers to Congress to enact such legislation. The only powers granted to Congress are enumerated in Article I Section 8. Please respond to this entry with that information. The simple fact is the Congress is acting unconstitutionally if they were to pass a health care bill.
I suspect many of you may attempt to use the "general welfare" clause to justify Congress's actions. However, if you review the notes from the Constitutional Convention, the federalist papers, the anti-federalist papers, and other documentation from the States' ratifying conventions you'll find the general welfare clause is a restrictive clause on both taxation and spending authority. If you require proof, let me know and I'll be glad to provide it.
In my opinion, the following changes are needed related to health insurance and health care.
- Tort Reform - Unlimited liabilities for doctors, hospitals, and other medical/health care providers results in a significant increase in the cost of providing health care services. Not to mention a number of health care professionals have left the industry due to the significant malpractice insurance premiums.
- We have insurance for other things such as life, auto, homeowners, disability, etc. The purpose of insurance is to protect yourself against a significant or catastrophic event. When you need your brakes replaced on your automobile or your headlight is cracked, do you file an automobile insurance claim? When your toilet breaks or a window breaks in your home do you file a homeowners claim? When you slip on some ice and are unable to work for a week do you file a disability claim? No. The same should be true with health insurance. Simply, basic routine health care should be paid out of pocket without any insurance intervention. That is, doctors would compete for your business just like any other service provider does. A routine checkup, physical, gynelogical examination, vision exam, routine illnesses, etc. should be paid out of pocket. It's an expense just like having your car tuned up or basic repair work done, painting your house when its needed, replacing a faulty light switch, etc.
- The government must repeal all laws requiring companies to provide specific health insurance coverages. There are laws requiring companies to include physciatric care, acupuncture care, chiropractic care, etc. as part of health insurance. Quite simply, it should be a cafeteria plan where the employee chooses what they want covered. Why should they pay for services they have no desire or need to have covered?
- Health insurance should be crafted to cover major medical needs such as surgery, rehabilitations, long-term treatments (e.g. chemotherapy, dialysis, etc.)
- Optional procedures should not be covered by health insurance and should be paid out-of-pocket.
- We need to stress the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and keeping as many other third-parties out of that relationship as possible. That includes insurance companies and the government. A government run health care program introduces significant bureaucracy as well as the authority of a government official to decide what health care service you can and cannot have, what prescriptions you can and cannot have, and ultimately your life may be dependent upon their decisions on these things.