Health Scare - Yikes!!

One of Obama's socialist promises during the campaign was to nationalize health care - because a few people don't have health insurance coverage and because that is what socialists do. In numerous speeches after inauguration he put health care at the root of our current economic system - and in one way he is correct - the very same Americans that got us into this economic mess by not acting responsible are the same ones in many cases that won't do the responsible thing and obtain health insurance - a big fancy house they can't afford is more important than their personal well being. Seems like just about every article one reads on health care calls it "broken," yet they never actually explain why it is broken or how it is broken. For the Obama's socialist plan to come to fruition health care has to be broken and it has to be the fault of everyone else but the government, the unions and the trial lawyers - oh and those deadbeat Americans for whom he is destroying our health care system. The Obama Administration's motto is - If it ain't broke, then break it.

Health care in America isn't perfect and true there are Americans without health insurance. One wonders why it is that instead of trying to nationalize health care and make it crappy for everyone, the Obamas just don't study that which needs updating and concentrate on that. It is kind of like education - it's a race to mediocrity. If we all can't have the same quality health care then none of us will - that kind of shallow thinking is why the system is the way it is. In the early 1990's the insurance industry tried to put in place a system that was more about health maintenance, which meant more responsibility on the part of the insured to work to "maintain" their health by actively engaging in their own lives - eat better, exercise and see their doctors on a regular basis. How many times have we heard that when it comes to cancer, the best cure is early detection. We still have no cure for cancer and we may not have for decades to come but it doesn't mean it has to be a death sentence. Well, we all know the result of the HMO debacle - Americans don't want to be responsible - they want a cure all pill and the right to live and behave as they choose, which means that when they get sick they want all the stops pulled out to fix the problem. In the end thousands and thousands of dollars are wasted just to prolong the life of a terminal patient, who in the majority of cases could have prevented their own illness through a bit of personal engagement. Don't get me wrong - there are thousands of cancer cases each year that have nothing to do with poor behavior on the part of the victim - breast cancer, mesothelioma and numerous others. But a lot of cancers are self inflicted - lung cancer from smoking being the most common. Likewise obesity and heart disease are two very preventable health care conditions. Unfortunately, people with health insurance and money who get sick because of bad behavior are in a better position to suck up resources that could be better used on those who are sick due to no fault of their own.

Fixing health care by destroying it won't work. We have a shortage of nurses and a growing shortage of doctors because of restrictions on payment reimbursements. I don't know about you, but I like the fact that my doctor drives a Porsche - actually she doesn't. She works out of a little hovel here in Santa Fe, is a big Obama fan and very much wants socialized medicine. She is the right kind of doctor for me,though, because she is about preventative medicine and not clean-up-your-mess medicine. Too many Americans want the latter and don't want to pay for it. Too many Americans go to the doctor for sniffles and scrapes and then bill their insurance companies. Stop that and make insurance only for the big ticket items and right there costs will drop. Get rid of open ended settlements in malpractice cases and let doctors do their jobs, doctors are human also. Leave the big payouts to the really egregious events and for the "I just made a mistake" cases, let the payment fit the mistake - no bill from the doctor or hospital. The biggest thing that we need to do to save health care is get the government out of the middle of it. Everything government touches turns to crap and so far they are doing a good job of wrecking health care.

Several interesting Articles to read:

Wall Street Journal: Signing On to an Obama 'Dream'

The private groups are calculating that they can better influence this year's bill if they're "partners" instead of villains. They've no doubt seen what happened to Wall Street and Chrysler bondholders. All the same, they must surely know they have made a Faustian bargain that in time will result in price controls and restrictions on care.

The Obama Administration, by contrast, is convinced that it is smart enough to engineer more efficient medical practices out of D.C.

That last line left me stunned at the audacity of the Obama - his band of merry thieves couldn't engineer their way out of a wet paper bag!

Slate: Two Trillion Dollars

The American Prospect: IS THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY ON OBAMA'S SIDE? IS OBAMA ON THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY'S SIDE?

The politics of this should surely cheer supporters of reform. In essence, this is the entire medical industry stepping forward and declaring themselves partners in Obama's effort. It leaves Republicans isolated. It allows the administration to credibly claim that they are working with the stakeholders to cut costs. It puts the industry on record saying that reform will bring new efficiencies rather than increased spending. And it's simple evidence of the momentum building behind the administration's effort. These groups wouldn't be jockeying for a seat at the table if they didn't think everyone was eventually going to sit down.

And so it's worth asking what, exactly, the health care industry has committed itself to.

And the answer is: Not much. As one senior administration official said to me, "this is a commitment, not a plan." The industry coalition has gestured towards various areas of potential savings -- among them billing reform, health information technology, and linking payment to outcomes. But they've not presented a detailed proposal for attaining them. They have not set down enforcement mechanisms. Put simply, they are, at this juncture, helping the White House with its messaging. But that doesn't mean they will help the White House with its legislation.

Wall Street Journal: How Obamacare will affect your doctor

While the public option is meant for the uninsured, employers will realize it's easier -- and cheaper -- to move employees into the government plan than continue workplace coverage.

On a personal level, my small company has already received notice that our health insurance premiums are going to go up 15%. We have a pretty decent plan that gives the worker lots of flexibility. But, because we are a small company a 15% increase could lead to a decline in coverage because we will have to change insurance companies or move to a lower tier less flexible insurance plan. If the government comes in with Socialized Health Care then it would be silly, other than wanting to provide the best for its employees, for our company not to dump coverage and force us to move to No care Health care - Obamacare. The last WSJ article points out that one of the major elements of Obamacare is a provision to make it harder for private insurance companies and doctors to compete with Obamacare and will further drive up the costs of none government health care.

I am fairly certain that no one in the Obama cult can read so none of these articles or the many previous and to come ones will be digested or thought about. Obama is self-serving and needs no input from the outside world.