Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Health Insurance Lobby Won't Stop
It is just as important that business keep out of government as that government keep out of business.
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)
Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated as Alonso-Zaldivar and Werner (2009) reported "the insurance lobby won't be able to block a public health plan because most Americans realize they would be better off if the industry had competition".
For government to enter into the private market place does not "promote" competition, it ends competition. Once we arrive at the point of giving the government carte blanche to "help" us, then we have concluded that we are powerless to help ourselves. Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004) is quoted as saying, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" It would do us well to remember the aftermath of 9/11 when "most Americans" were clamoring for the government to "keep us safe". This mandate to the government got us War in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and Gitmo. Now "most Americans" are saying it is only the government that can provide the competition they desire to the insurance industry. This competition is to be funded largely by cuts to Medicare and Medicaid which is scaring the pants off of large hospitals and a large number of doctors, and rightfully so. What "most Americans" are asking the government to do is trade one, largely inefficient, fraught with the ability to de-fraud government bureaucracy, with another. The only difference would be this new government agency would be in direct competition with American business.
Please do not misunderstand - I am not a great fan of the American insurance industry, but I am fervent opponent to the American government intervening in business. I seriously thought we would have another round of "tea parties" when the President became the de-jure CEO of Government Motors, but that did not happen. Do we need some type of oversight on the insurance industry? I believe we do, especially with allegations of the industry trying to recover from bad investments by raising rates (particularly malpractice insurance rates). When they raise rates, it trickles down to the patients who have to pay more, which initiates the market forces of raising their rates. When rates reach the point where small business no longer can afford to supply their employees with any type of health coverage, then you have a problem - but not the one we are facing now. We will look later at the actual basis for this problem based on reports from Health and Human Services and the Census Bureau.
Later...
Alonso-Zaldivar, R., Werner, E. (2009, June) AP Interview: Sebelius says insurers won't succeed (June 16, 2009) Retrieved June 16, 2009 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sebelius_health_overhaul.
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)
Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated as Alonso-Zaldivar and Werner (2009) reported "the insurance lobby won't be able to block a public health plan because most Americans realize they would be better off if the industry had competition".
For government to enter into the private market place does not "promote" competition, it ends competition. Once we arrive at the point of giving the government carte blanche to "help" us, then we have concluded that we are powerless to help ourselves. Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004) is quoted as saying, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" It would do us well to remember the aftermath of 9/11 when "most Americans" were clamoring for the government to "keep us safe". This mandate to the government got us War in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and Gitmo. Now "most Americans" are saying it is only the government that can provide the competition they desire to the insurance industry. This competition is to be funded largely by cuts to Medicare and Medicaid which is scaring the pants off of large hospitals and a large number of doctors, and rightfully so. What "most Americans" are asking the government to do is trade one, largely inefficient, fraught with the ability to de-fraud government bureaucracy, with another. The only difference would be this new government agency would be in direct competition with American business.
Please do not misunderstand - I am not a great fan of the American insurance industry, but I am fervent opponent to the American government intervening in business. I seriously thought we would have another round of "tea parties" when the President became the de-jure CEO of Government Motors, but that did not happen. Do we need some type of oversight on the insurance industry? I believe we do, especially with allegations of the industry trying to recover from bad investments by raising rates (particularly malpractice insurance rates). When they raise rates, it trickles down to the patients who have to pay more, which initiates the market forces of raising their rates. When rates reach the point where small business no longer can afford to supply their employees with any type of health coverage, then you have a problem - but not the one we are facing now. We will look later at the actual basis for this problem based on reports from Health and Human Services and the Census Bureau.
Later...
Alonso-Zaldivar, R., Werner, E. (2009, June) AP Interview: Sebelius says insurers won't succeed (June 16, 2009) Retrieved June 16, 2009 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sebelius_health_overhaul.
