Anyone that doesn't support Obamacare wants sick children to die. They don't care if cripple children ever walk. Rich people that own insurance companies only care about profits. The reason medical costs are sky high is because of the profits insurance, drug, medical device, and healthcare corporations "steal" from the "little guys" out there that are struggling to survive. Greed. That's the cause of every middle and lower class problem in the USA. Doctors make too much money, too. Do you believe all this stuff?
Unfortunately, a bunch of Americans have bought into this narrative. The Democrats are saying it over and over. The main stream media outlets are playing and printing the sound bites over and over. If you say anything enough times, it becomes truth in the minds of so many voters out there.
Does Obamacare solve all of these problems or cause new problems? Well let's talk about what is going on out there in the medical marketplace.
Consumers used to have multiple choices in medical insurance. If you buy health insurance through your employer and they subsidize the cost, you only have the choices they offer their employees. In the past, my employers have offered several options. One was a normal, standard plan that was offered at a medium price. Another was a so-called "Cadillac" plan that had essentially no deductible. My employer didn't offer it, but some others had health savings account plans that were less expensive and allowed you to save money in an account to pay for future deductibles or co-pays that were a little higher. Some employers offered "cafeteria style" plans where you could choose to spend your money for dental or vision or more comprehensive medical or how ever you deemed to be in your best interest. Of course, consumers also had the option to "roll the dice" and have no insurance. Many younger people believed that the odds were in their favor in terms of illness. They figured that they didn't need insurance until they were older and more likely to get sick.
How has government meddling "improved" this situation? Were the consumers really too stupid to decide for themselves what they need in terms of insurance or healthcare? What encouraged younger people to sail along with no insurance and live dangerously? Could it have been the government helping out that contributed to the problems? Why yes! Were these people that had no insurance by choice (as opposed to by economic necessity - i.e. they could afford the insurance by decided to buy a new car or something else instead of insurance) really rolling the dice? I think not. Didn't you hear our ruler (Obama) talking about these folks showing up at the emergency room to get care? He was complaining that the government had to pay the bill, and it was higher because they went to the emergency room instead of having managed care. Well, here's one of the unintended consequences we have. When you help out folks that choose to walk the tightrope without a net and you only do the helping at the expensive emergency room, then duh! What have you encouraged them to do? Maybe those folks need to be left in financial ruin for their bad decision making. That would help the smarter ones make better decisions. The stupid consumers would then fall victim to the Darwin natural selection process.
Or maybe, if you left a charity to decide whether to help out or not, they could decide if the person in need deserves help or not. You know, there was a time before Medicaid and Medicare when doctors helped out the poor. Why are hospitals so often named Baptist Hospital, Jewish Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Christ Hospital, St. somebody Hospital, etc.? These fine institutions were set up so that the various religious and charitable organizations could help out the poor and needy amongst us. The government has decided to take over the charity business just like it has taken over so many other things. And, of course, the government sucks at pretty much everything they do.
We have a MessAPolitico that was caused by the government helping folks. (Hey, there's the intended consequence.) Now folks feel entitled to free medical care (thus, the name: entitlements). When this was charity, a lot of people were too proud to accept it -- at least, they accepted it begrudgingly and then, only when it was a necessity and only for a short time. The charity could look at the situation and play it by ear. If a kid was the victim of an irresponsible action by a parent, then they would get free care. On the other hand, a young professional that chose to forgo the insurance for extra spending money might be left to fend for himself or herself. When the government passes a law, everything has to be "one size fits all." There can be no flexibility. There is no room for judgment. That leads to folks receiving charity that don't really deserve it and creates that entitlement mentality.
I will continue this discussion on Wednesday. Stay tuned sports fans. There is no end to the Obamacare MessAPolitico.
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