There had never been as much political momentum to fix America’s healthcare system. I use “had” because the wheels have already begun to come off the healthcare reform express that rolled into Washington so confidently. The remedy put forward by the White House and top democrats-- an expensive big government solution-- scares even members of their own party.
So, after all the sound and fury from Obama about how we have no choice but to fix our healthcare system, I’m betting this effort ends as past efforts, with a whimper.
There’s no question that our healthcare system needs fixing, but how? We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world, some 47 million do not have coverage, and quality of care is uneven. And most of us know of someone who has been financially ruined or taken to the brink by high healthcare costs.
Yet the United States still provides the highest-quality health care in the world. 18 of the last 25 winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine either are U.S. citizens or work here. With no price controls, free-market U.S. medicine provides the incentives that lead to innovation breakthroughs in new drugs and other medical technologies.
But how to protect the have-nots in our medical system? I’m not a big fan of government solutions to anything. And countries in Europe who already have “universal healthcare” have recently been moving or talking about moving in the opposite direction, toward market solutions.
The Left in this country has long been enamored with the concept of government run health care for all. They think it's the sign of a great nation. Europeans tend to think the same way, and view our healthcare system as downright savage. The Germans even have a phrase, “American conditions,” which means an uncaring social policy. But is healthcare a right or a commodity?
Universal healthcare is not universally loved.
A basic problem with nationalized health care is that it makes medical services seem "free." That pushes demand beyond supply. Governments deal with that by limiting what's available. It's called "rationing." People can't always see a doctor when they want to, or when they need to. Some die waiting, or pay out of pocket to see a private specialist, often in the U.S. The British National Health Service recently made the pathetic promise to reduce wait times for hospital care to four months.
Many Canadians will tell you they're proud of their government heathcare, but then joke among themselves about "wait care." Canada's own Supreme Court has admitted that patients have died waiting for care.
I tend to believe in market forces, and free market advocates insist our healthcare system is messed up because of too much government regulation already.
But the free market is the last place this congress and president will look for solutions. And the premium for their big government cure, at over $1.5 trillion, is just too high.