More on healthcare

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

By Matthew Irwin

The U.S. cannot wait any longer on healthcare reform.

US Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) calls for a slowdown on his Web site, saying “some Democrats have placed [priority] on meeting arbitrary deadlines over getting the legislation done right.”

Enzi wants halt legislation with the “straw man” technique on “some Democrats.”
William Safire in The New York Times Magazine defines a straw man “as a figure of a man stuffed with cheap material [who] may appear scary but is really weak and defenseless.” The tactic is to “take your opponent’s argument to a ridiculous extreme and then attack the extreme.”

Enzi uses unpopular terms like “government takeover” to radicalize universal healthcare, thereby setting up an opportunity to push his idea of how it can be “done right.”

Enzi’s idea is a common one in the Cowboy State: create a bigger pool of payers to attract competing insurance companies, cut taxes to help people meet premiums and force Medicare and Medicaid patients into private insurance. His solution for healthcare costs is tort reform.

None of these directions brings down the cost of care.

The government does not have to take over healthcare to regulate it better, to force insurance companies to cut administrative costs – higher in the U.S. than any other first-world nation – and create a universal plan. Insurance companies must also be forced to accept everyone under a single plan. Sure, some companies will disappear, – part of a healthy capitalistic nation – but the remainder will also compete to accumulate healthy payers. They more than likely will learn to reward clients for healthy activities and preventative care.

Wyoming does not have enough people power to leverage insurance companies on its own – that’s why universal healthcare must be decided on the national level.
Hospitals and doctors will also have to adapt. First, they’ll have to decide if the technology is worth the cost – results on the efficacy of robotic technology are mixed. And both might also have to succumb to fixed rates for services. A hospital in the Midwest, NPR reported earlier this week, has  created a fixed amount for certain conditions and illnesses until the patient is healed. The more accurate they are with diagnosis and treatment, the more they make for the care.

As constituents, we have to decide that it is more important that everyone have care than it is to feel that we, as individuals, are self-reliant or to know that we, as a society, aren’t being had by hustlers. Compassion is more important than ego. And if that doesn’t get you, keep in mind a universal program will likely save us money, as it has other decisive first-world nations.

Mr. Enzi, do what’s right: stop pretending that your plan will work. JHW


PERMALINK:
More on healthcare | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

Leave a Comment