Friday, September 01, 2006

THEY'VE BEEN DYING TO DO IT

On a largely party-line 43-30 vote, the Assembly approved a bill by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, that would eliminate private medical insurance plans and establish a statewide health insurance system that would provide coverage to all Californians. The state Senate has already approved the plan once and is expected this week to approve changes that the Assembly made to the bill.

Schwarzenegger has said he opposes a single-payer plan like the one Kuehl's bill would create, but the governor has not offered his own alternatives for fixing the state's health care system. As many as 7 million people are uninsured in the state, and spiraling costs have put pressure on business and consumers.

"We know the health care in place today is teetering on collapse," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles. "We need to do something to improve it, to reform it, and this is what we are bringing to the table."

First, the system we have now is still the best in the world so his first quote is nonsense. Healthcare is a victim of its own success. The more medical improvements and drugs that come to market, the longer our lifespans and quality of life. The downside is that this costs money. I don't see why the taxpayer has to fund every last medical improvement for strangers. And as far as public health goes, I think people will tend to be even less cautious about their health if they perceive that doctors are standing by for "free" to solve their problems.

The biggest complaints now are that people do not have access to that top notch care. This plan won't change that. The real result is that either private hospitals will spring up to provide that care for people with cash (if they're allowed) or the best medical care will migrate across the border to Nevada or Arizona.

The end result will be much like our education system. Everyone pays into it, few are happy with it, and the lucky ones will be able to pay out of pocket for the situation they like better. The middle class will be left to subsidize the poor as usual.

2 comments:

Lynnie said...

Americans just don't have a clue how much health care costs. They want to believe office visits really do cost $20. The Lindanesses of the world who sat in chairs and ate bag upon bag of Twizzlers for forty years will be the death of us all.

Aetna began the "price transparency" idea in Cincinnati. It sounds like the idea is catching on - giving consumers online access to pricing and patient satisfaction BEFORE they go to the doctor. If we knew we were paying for filet mignon but only getting cubed steak, we'd pay more attention. Doctors would work harder to serve their customers.

Dude said...

Not much to add to Tom's comments. Everyone seems to recognize that the education system is broken but nobody cares to imagine how health care will go the same route when nationalized.

I have great insurance thru Disney. I have never known not having great insurance, but I have learned through self-employed friends that there are options such as BlueCross on the market for individuals to form their own plan.

My understanding of capitalism is that the market will ultimately correct its own shortcomings. There is already health care for every price point - it seems to me reworking the system isn't as pertinent as all the talk suggests.

I do know that I will be very sad if my Disney insurance goes away. And I am fairly sure my son would have never survived without that plan in place for him in 1999.

In the end, I suppose the state can do whatever it wants which ultimately means a greater number of people being subsidized by the middle class. I just hope that any new plan does not come at the expense of personal liberty. If I have to pay into this scheme, I should damn well have the option of keeping my Disney insurance as well.

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