Category Archives: Health Care

Food And Medical Care

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 15 comments

During the hearing of Obamacare, the news was full of analysis.  One of those pieces, in the “USA Today”, made a point that food is more of a basic need to people than healthcare:

A brief submitted by 215 economists argues that food is even more basic to survival than health care…

I was struck by this last night as I was cleaning out some of my “stack” in my office last night.

See, the food delivery market, while not perfectly so, is a free market example of how goods can be distributed efficiently.  Based on demand and the profit motive, food stuffs are delivered to a literal market where individual shoppers are allowed to “ration” themselves based, in part, by how much money they have and what types of services they want.

For example, in my market I can by generic chicken soup, Ramen noodles and rice.  Or, I can walk 50 feet away and purchase hand rolled sushi, fillet mignon, $60 wine and lobster.

As a real example of the power of markets I picked up this flier:

For $5, this profit driven market is offering a meal that feeds 4 people, perhaps more if the kids are younger.

If medical care were subject to the same market forces you would see the same thing happen with the cost of medical care.  In the same way, if you allowed health insurance to be impacted by the same market forces, you would see prices of health insurance react in the same manner.

It’s only when government intercedes, by mandating acupuncture coverage, or by restricting the sale of insurance polices across state lines, that you see the price of a good or service go up.

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Posted in Economics, Government, Health Care, Politics: National

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The Health Care Market

Posted on March 29, 2012 | 4 comments

One of the many arguments made by the supporters of Obamacare is that there exists a health care market.  And, as such, congress can regulate it.  This includes the requirement to purchase insurance.  A counter argument to this line of reasoning is that the government can regulate commerce once contracted, but not before.  That is, if you choose to purchase a car, congress can regulate things like seat belts and emission technologies.  But they can’t require you to purchase car.

Which gets us to the point.  Defenders of Obamacare will argue that we are already IN the market, by being alive we are in the “health care contract”.  And this is because if we get sick or hurt and cannot afford to pay for our care, the rest of us must pick up the cost.

It’s hard to argue this line of thinking.

We ARE all in this market if you think of it this way.  Either acting as people who are assuming a cost for those who act less responsibly or by acting in a responsible manner ourselves.

But then it occurred to me.  The only reason that we are in this “market” to begin with is through government mandate to begin with.  Which is, “You cannot turn away a patient based on ability to pay.”

If the government didn’t first require that I pay for all people’s irresponsibility, then I would not have costs ascribed to me that now require me to purchase insurance.

This is what the Court meant when they asked, “Can you create a market that forces everyone to participate and then regulate that market without limit?”

 

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Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics: National

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I’m Just A Long Haired Hippie: But Qualified For The Supreme Court

Posted on March 28, 2012 | 4 comments

The argument goes something like this:

By allowing people to make their own decisions, they pass costs on to other American citizens who make better and more correct decisions.  Therefore, we can mandate that what we feel is a better and more correct decision; health insurance.

That’s the Left.  That’s Obama.  That’s what people who claim to love liberty want to embrace.  That a beneficent government, acting in our best interests, can mandate behavior.

I’ve challenged this line of thought by asking if we could mandate blueberries.  See, blueberries are one of the most healthy foods available.  It consistently ranks in the top 5; heck, top 3.  People who eat blueberries are healthier than people who don’t.

There is little scientific evidence to dispute this.  If any.

Yet we know that we cannot mandate that people buy blueberries.

But if this health care mandate goes through, we are saying that the government CAN mandate blueberries.  Heck, we then admit that the government mandate that we GROW blueberries.

And yet this argument has been ignored.

Until now:

Antonin Scalia, asked if the government might require Americans to buy broccoli or automobiles. Returning to the limits thing, Scalia asked, “If the government can do this, what else can it … do?”

Sub green for blue and the argument is the same.

What can the government NOT mandate?

 

 

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Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics: National

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Healthcare Data: Supreme Court Case

Posted on March 26, 2012 | 2 comments

 

I’m reading a NY Times article on the lead up to the Supreme Court hearing of the case; some interesting facts surrounding a 1987 ruling regarding taxes and lawsuits.

Anyway, I come across this anecdotal story:

Some activists came with their own stories. Henrik Erslev, 58, a carpenter from Maryland, said he had come out to support the bill because his daughter, who just turned 26, was allowed to stay on his insurance policy through a cyst removal last year that Mr. Erslev said would have forced her into bankruptcy.

Now, assuming his daughter would have had to obtain her own insurance, something she’ll have to do in a year anyway, how much would it have cost her?

Continue reading →

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Posted in Health Care, Politics: National

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Health Care Programs: Missing The Real Cost

Posted on March 20, 2012 | 13 comments

This past week the CBO announced that Obama care, when costed out over a 10 year period that was different than the 10 year period when it was voted on, will cost more than originally stated.  For many, this comes as no surprise.  The fact that government programs cost more than originally stated isn’t anything new, in fact, it’s been going on for decades:

Only 1 of the programs above managed to come even close to half of the real cost; Medicare Catastrophic coverage.  And THAT program was eliminated before it took effect.

The CBO is estimating the last year of the measurable ten to cost nearly $265 billion.  If we average the misses from the above program we can expect that last year to really cost $1.8 trillion alone.

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Posted in Debt - Deficit, Health Care, Politics: National

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Health Care: United States Style

Posted on March 20, 2012 | 4 comments

We’ve all heard it before.  The United States spends more in health care and receives less in return than any nation in the world.

Or some such nonsense.

But only in America are surgeries performed on minor wrist fractures within 24 hours that allows elite individuals to return to work:

Just 24 hours after suffering a fracture of his scaphoid bone, Kendall Marshall, point guard for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, was recovering from surgery and contemplating playing again.

I suspect that Mr. Marshall, and all of North Carolina, feels that this expenditure is a feature and not a bug of the medical care distribution system in the United States.  Further:

Andrew, a hand surgeon with Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic,  said Marshall’s method of treatment – surgery and the insertion of a self-tightening screw to fix the break – is a common course for athletes.

“As you tighten the screw, it compresses the fracture site together and gives it better stability,” he said.

Marshall’s wrist will be stable enough to play, Andrew said. Most patients wear a cast to immobilize the thumb. A hand therapist could make a soft plastic cast for Marshall, who could replace it with heavy tape to play.

We have it within our ability to call upon such amazing technology as this.  And yet we complain that we have access to such amazing technology as this.

There is no where in the world, in the history of the world, that has a better medical outcome than the United States.

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Posted in Health Care

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Health Care Mandate: Where Does It End

Posted on March 19, 2012 | 1 comment

Very soon the Obama administration is going to argue before the Supreme Court that the United States Government is able to mandate the purchase of a private good.  In this case, health insurance.  The reason, as defined by the administration, is that by not purchasing insurance, millions of Americans will transfer untold billions in health care costs to others.

The idea is that to provide basic health services to everyone, the government is able to mandate insurance because it relates to “citizen’s health.”

When faced with arguments like this in the past by supporters of the health care bill and the individual mandate, I’ve asked where the government would draw the line.  Further, I’ve asked for specifics on what the nature of a blueberry mandate and the health care mandate would be.

No answer.  However, I am happy to see that I am not alone in my musings.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics: National

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The Limits Of Government Power

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 4 comments

In the last 6 years, the government has done stuff that leaves me wondering if there is a  limit to what it can do.

For example, we see bills such as the Patriot Act passed into law that really push the limits on government intrusion.  If they can do “that”, what can’t they do?

Then there were the wars in foreign nations.  If we can just do “that”, is there any thing that we can’t do?

Then TARP, TARP II and the bailout of the car companies.

All of which leads us to Obamacare and the preventative care mandate.

What can’t they do?

Continue reading →

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Posted in Government, Health Care, Liberty, Politics: National

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Government Mandates

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 2 comments

For those of us who support the government intervening in the insurance market only to make things more expensive to make things better for everyone, I have a question:

If you support the government forcing Americans to buy insurance AND you support the government forcing insurance companies to offer free birth control, why don’t you support the government requiring people to purchase fresh fruit AND support the government forcing insurance companies to offer free broccoli?

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Posted in Health Care, Liberty, Politics: National

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Jesus Was A Socialist

Posted on January 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

I see these from time to time.  Mostly on Facebook, sometimes in comments.  The gist is that Republicans are seen as Christians.  Christians, well, we have our Jesus.  And the theory is that if our Jesus commanded that we take care of the poor and the sick, why are we so against things like Obamacare and Medicaid?

Usually the point is made through a drawing, picture or cartoon:

I’m not so tender and fragile that I don’t find humor in this.  And the point is not lost on me either.  We SHOULD work to make the world better for all of those in it; especially those who are least able to do this for themselves.

That’s where the point kinda ends though.  See, the idea that because Jesus would have us do a thing out of love and goodwill is vastly different that thinking we should create a government mandate to require that same activity.

For example, Jesus also commands us to pray like this:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name…..

No one seriously feels that we should pass a law that says all of us should pray the Lord’s Prayer.  Additionally, Jesus commands us to:

Go, baptize all the nations.

In a similar manner, no one thinks that we should pass legislation requiring all US citizens go and get baptized.

My reaction to these cute and witty injections is usually to take the  message to heart, laugh, think of my friend on Facebook who posted it that I haven’t seen in 20 years and move on.  Sometimes I need to comment.

Hat Tip: Gette

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Posted in Faith, Health Care, Liberty

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