The Public Policy Option Will Make Things Worse

The health care debate is really a classical political debate. Someone or some group has a great public policy proposal and just about everyone supports the policy. The problem is that there is never enough money in the treasury to fund the program. This is exactly what is wrong with the public policy option. Everyone agrees that all Americans should have the best health care in the world at an affordable price whenever they need it. The problem is that the government is already spending trillions of dollars that we do not have, and we do not have the medical capability to take care of all Americans all the time. We cannot simply legislate a great health care program into existence, we must build it. We must rebuild the American Economy first so that we can generate the wealth we need to build the health care system we all want.

The public policy option will only make the current situation much worse. Currently, most Americans are being very well taken care of. The problem is that some may be left behind because they do not have any medical insurance, or they cannot pay for what their insurance policy will not pay for. Forcing everyone into the system at the same time will produce enormous economic problems, and ruin the system for just about everyone. When the system becomes overloaded with new users with no additional medical capabilities than everyone must wait in line for scarce medical resources. This is exactly what has happened in Canada and other European Countries that have a similar public option in their health care programs. That is why Canadians come into the United States to get the health care they cannot get in Canada.

There is an additional problem with the public option that makes it unworkable. It will generate uncontrollable paper work and force the government to hire a new generation of bureaucrats to manage the paper work flow and determine who gets what service, when do they get it, and how will it be paid for. The American People do not want these bureaucrats managing their health care and they cannot afford it.

It is time to take a play out of the late Senator Ted Kennedy's book and make incremental improvements while keeping our eye on the big picture. In the long run we all want the best possible health care for all Americans at a price they can afford. That is not possible now, but some significant improvements can be made right now. Liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, can find common ground and agree on many important issues. First let the insurance companies compete across the country and this should significantly reduce insurance premiums. Second, enact tort reform to reduce the number of frivolous law suits and reduce the need to waste money practicing defensive medicine. Continue to study non-governmental cooperative arrangements and determine if they are a major part of the answer for us. Finally, begin to adjust government planning and the Federal budget with the goal of expanding America's medical capabilities. For example, we should develop scholarships for medical professionals, and begin founding new hospitals and outpatient facilities