Five Top Reasons for The Health Care Crisis
Politics / US Politics Oct 12, 2009 - 02:13 PM GMTBy: Stephen_Merrill
1. In 1942 Congress made health care insurance for company employees non taxable unlike wages. Beyond the tax disadvantage created for individuals seeking health insurance, this law left few reasons for companies to even offer policies to individuals let alone lifetime policies.
2. The creation of Medicare in 1965 eventually ended all need for private insurance companies to fund end of life medical expenses for the vast majority of people, the biggest reason to have health insurance over a lifetime.
Super-imposing a single-payer for the elderly onto the private system creates distortions, like disparate compensation to doctors and the practice of raising patient charges to blunt the effect of low Medicare reimbursement rates.
Worse, Medicare largely shifts the oversight of health care increases and fraud prevention from consumers and companies spending their own money to federal regulators spending the taxpayers' money. The expansionary practice in federal budgeting writes in an increase each and every year as a matter of right.
3. The same is true of Medicaid/Social Security Disability entitlements.
Further, these programs all but ended the tradition of charitable hospitals that better served the poor than they are served today and at far less expense.
4. Instead of creating by insurance regulation a uniform mandate for the coverage to be provided by carriers, lobby dominated legislators and regulators impose piecemeal limits easily evaded by insurers in an endless game of litigation.
5. Unlike just about any other business, a special interest fence is placed at every state border when it comes to providing health insurance.
Is more government control in health care the answer once again?
By Stephen Merrill, Editor
Hampton Roads Freedom News
Mr. Merrill is a trial lawyer from Norfolk, Virginia who is the longtime general counsel for the Tidewater Libertarian Party. A sometimes civil rights lawyer, he authored an amicus curie brief considered in the landmark United States Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London.
Mr. Merrill is the editor of the Hampton Roads Freedom News. http://FreedomNews.US
© 2009 Copyright Stephen Merrill,- All Rights Reserved
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