Health Care Reform Myths

Stossel: You are my hero. Kudos.

Who doesn't love living in the slums? That which does not kill you makes you stronger maybe the guvment is trying to give us more character?!?

What a silly analogy. I have never felt the need for constant protection from, say, Safeway. They have never, for instance, told me that I couldn't buy cabbage because it was not on the "approved" list. I can go to any grocery store (for the sake of argument)in the United States without fear of being turned away for lack of "membership." Harumpfff.

We can get better healthcare on aisle 7 of Ride-Aid than the King of England had a couple centuries ago, where they bled out with leeches.

Where has this innovation come from? Profit incentive. Now, leftists think they deserve the cutting-edge advantages of medical technology for free?

What if there was a pill that cured cancer, but it cost $100,000? $100,000,000? Some bureaucrat will be putting a value on human life on our dime, rather than responsible people who work and pay for the benefits of medical technology. That's wrong and immoral. It's communism/socialism whichever way you cut it.

I think we want to reserve a default role for private enterprise in the economy and only resort to a government intervention when things aren't going well. Can anyone say U.S. health care is going well when we pay more than twice the average of other industrialized countries pay for theirs while getting a quality of service that is inferior by several measures? When folks are citing medical bills as a factor in 60% of bankruptcies? Do other countries have this problem at all? Apparently, not since they offer universal health care. Run by government, unfortunately.

Good post, Ron.

Ron, and yet, anytime you want cabbage, you can find it at an affordable price at just about any time of the day. Thank private industry. Here's a question to ask yourself. Which line is worse: the one at the supermarket or the one at the DMV? Which would you rather stand in? If private industry doesn't always provide the best healthcare, why do you think government could do better job at providing the service? The analogy is quite apt.

The question is whether people should be in charge of their own decisions or whether the government should determine what we're allowed to choose. The "public option" is just a government subsidy for health insurance, because subsidies are so good at lowering quality and raising cost. Subsidies are the death of industry.

I loved his point about liberals call for greater spending on the failing government delivery system of education, yet call for lesser spending on the very successful private delivery system of healthcare.

The reason we pay twice what other countries pay is because Medicare only pays 1/3 of the true cost. Then there are the mandates that you cannot turn anyone away from a treatment facility. So, those who have insurance are paying, one way or the other, for those who freeload.

Food *is* subsidized, at least farming is. There is WIC, there are food stamps beyond ag. policy. Housing is subsidized - see the FHA/VA plus Section 8 plus other programs. These things have a high social welfare function.

The question is - what's the best way to finance health care? And it's not out of the question that government be the insurer of last resort.

Employer-provided grew up during a wage freeze in the Truman presidency as a perk in lieu of wages. It's metastasized and has absolutely no way of passing feedback to the end consumer about cost. It also doesn't fit the fact that people change employers more often.

It looks like single-payer reduces cost as we speak.

I think it is UNFAIR that ABC has pulled the piece from 20/20 regarding the "new" healthcare comparing it to Canada's system! Let the President, Congress and Lobbyust wait 6 months to see a healthcare provider!
We in Texas want to see your piece on 20/20 showing Americans the TRUE likeness of this Universal plan!

Mr. Stossel - please look up the term "oligopoly" and you'll learn the difference between health care and supermarkets.

Mr. Stossel, I suggest you look up the meaning of "recission." Insurance companies have made themselves notorious, even with members of Congress, for collecting insurance payments up to the point that a customers needs to use the insurance, and then canceling the policy. I trust you can see the difference between spending money in an attempt to ensure future financial well-being and spending money on physical goods.

SRS

Excuse me? This is idiotic.

Let's say you paid for your groceries in advance, and then when you showed up the store didn't let you buy the stuff you thought you were entitled to. Or maybe it refused to sell to you any more because you got too many steaks, or were too fat (and it told the other groceries about it, so they wouldn't sign you up either).

Or maybe your grocery store was picked by your employer, and you couldn't go elesewhere, and maybe no store would sign you up if you quit your job.

How would that be?

Stossel, bringing the stupid consistently. As in lawsuits for me but not for thee.

'I especially like this perspective on a “public” plan'

That's because you're an idiot, John. Groceries make money by selling a product. Insurance companies make money by denying a service. This is what's know as a false analogy.

So far: no intelligent arguments against the public option.

Toad, so you say government run grocery stores would be better? You know they had those in the Soviet Union? Nothing like standing in line for four hours for a loaf of bread. Private health care has many problems. But wait until the government gets in the business. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Kevin, you don't seem to understand. Nobody is saying the government will run grocery stores better.

However, just because they won't run grocery stores better doesn't mean they will run everything worse.

For example: I wouldn't want my computer engineers doing sales. Can you imagine what would happen if they did? And now you are having them do computer programming? You do know how bad at sales they are, don't you?

Kevin,

What I'm saying is the analogy between grocery stores and health insurance is ridiculous, and if Stossel is impressed by it he's a fool. The markets are totally different.

And the Soviet Union analogy is no better. I didn't say government run grocery stores would be better. The way a grocery store works and the way health insurance works are light-years apart.