Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Health Care Plans

The Democratic Presidential Candidates have proposed some form of Mandatory Government Health Care. John Edwards estimates cost of his proposal at $120 Billion per year, while Hillary's proposal is estimated to cost $110 Billion. I think we can do better. One way is NOT to let the Government run the program, because anytime the Government runs a program, the cost soars through incompetence and waste.

Karl Rove outlines some ideas for a GOP plan which allows Income Tax Incentives, but is NOT run by the Government. Today in the on-line Editorial OpinionJournal of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Rove outlines an excellent strategy for Health Care in an article titled Republicans Can Win on Health Care.
Liberals see the concerns of families as a failure of private insurance, and want the U.S. to move toward a government-run, single-payer model. This is a recipe for making problems worse. Socialized medicine inevitably leads to poor quality, inefficiency, rising taxes and rationing. The waiting lines and poor care that cause people from other countries to come here for treatment are not the answer.
Ask someone from Canada or England what their Socialized Medicine Society is like. Cost, Waste, long Waits and poor quality does not sound like my idea of a good thing. Despite what Michael Moore's Sicko Movie claims, even our present system is better than what they have.
In short, the best health reform proposals will be those that recognize and build on the virtues of our market-based medical system. Sick people around the world come here because they can't get quality care in their home countries. Many health-care professionals come here to practice, leaving behind well-meaning health-care systems where government is in charge, bureaucrats make the decisions, and where the patient doesn't have the choice he or she does in the U.S.
Mr. Rove outlines several principles which will lead to a better system, cover everyone, and cost less, because the Government does not dictate price, a market based system does. How do we do it? Here is the outline for success.
  • Level the tax playing field
  • Tax-free savings for health costs
  • Portability
  • Arming consumers through more competition
  • Pool risk, lower costs
  • Greater transparency
  • Stop junk lawsuits
  • Build on the progress already made by putting patients in charge and letting competition work
Read the full editorial for details of each point.

The Democrats believe the Government must take care of society Cradle to Grave. I believe we can do a better job of taking care of ourselves.

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