Free Market Health Care Reform – Updated

• Free Market Health Care and American market capitalism, left up to Senator Ben Nelson.  I think we need to call this what it is…a bribe

  Where we are…

  The Tampa Tribune pretty much sums it up

  In an Op Ed by a Retired US Marine, “When the Democratic senator from Louisiana, Mary Landrieu, bragged about receiving $300 million for her state in exchange for her vote on the Senate health care bill, I thought that we had finally seen the worst of this current administration.

  Unfortunately, this particular administration has no bottom in sight. It seems that nothing is too base in order for it to pass this health care bill and get what it wants, and I mean nothing…

  If what is proposed is such a great bill, why is it necessary to bribe, threaten and coerce so many Democrats to sign on the dotted line? The Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate and an overwhelming majority in the House. They need no Republicans for passage, but Republicans are consistently portrayed as the ones who are causing failure of passage.

  Amen and Amen.  And now this

  Exhibit A is the outright bribe extracted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Corn Huckster State) from Sen. Harry Reid. As a result of Nelson’s performance in his role of Hamlet in the health care deliberations, we will have two health care systems in this country; one for Nebraska and one for the other 49 states.

  In its quixotic attempt to ensure everyone has health insurance, the Reid legislation greatly expands Medicaid eligibility. Because Medicaid is a program whose costs are split between the federal and state governments, this expansion in eligibility raise costs dramatically for states. States will be forced to either raise taxes or cut other services to accommodate the forced increase in Medicaid spending.

  Unless that state is Nebraska.

  Below is the text for Nelson’s bribe. Under this language the federal government will forever cover the costs of Medicaid expansion in Nebraska. Taxpayers in every other state will forever be responsible for the expanded Medicaid program in Nebraska.

  

  Disgusting and EXACTLY what we are going to change in 2010! 

  Where we should have gone…

  The Cato Institute is one of my favorites. They are “idea” people. Not the usual talking points, amorphous and empty rhetoric, or “hope and change” soaring platitudes. Real, Market, Solutions. These points on health care are fantastic…

  You can read more here But here are the 7 main points:

  1. Let individuals control their health care dollars, and free them to choose from a wide variety of health plans and providers.

  2. Move away from a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. Health insurance should be personal and portable, controlled by individuals themselves rather than government or an employer. Employment-based insurance hides much of the true cost of health care to consumers, thereby encouraging over-consumption. It also limits consumer choice, since employers get final say over what type of insurance a worker will receive. It means people who don’t receive insurance through work are put at a significant and costly disadvantage. And, of course, it means that if you lose your job, you are likely to end up uninsured as well.

  3. Changing from employer to individual insurance requires changing the tax treatment of health insurance. The current sy stem excludes the value of employer-provided insurance from a worker’s taxable income. However, a worker purchasing health insurance on their own must do so with after-tax dollars. This provides a significant tilt towards employer-provided insurance, which should be reversed. Workers should receive a standard deduction, a tax credit, or, better still, large Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for the purchase of health insurance, regardless of whether they receive it through their job or purchase it on their own.

  4. We need to increase competition among both insurers and health providers. People should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. One study estimated that that adjustment alone could cover 17 million uninsured Americans without costing taxpayers a dime.

  5. We also need to rethink medical licensing laws to encourage greater competition among providers. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and other non-physician practitioners should have far greater ability to treat patients. Doctors and other health professionals should be able to take their licenses from state to state. We should also be encouraging innovations in delivery such as medical clinics in retail outlets.

  6. Congress should give Medicare enrollees a voucher, let them choose any health plan on the market, and let them keep the savings if they choose an economical plan. Medicare could even give larger vouchers to the poor and sick to ensure they could afford coverage.

  7. The expansion of “health status insurance” would protect many of those with preexisting conditions. States may also wish to experiment with high risk pools to ensure coverage for those with high cost medical conditions.

  Now if only we can take back the House and the Senate and ACT ON OUR FREE MARKET PRINCIPLES!

 

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