In the interest of full disclosure, before I comment on this topic, I want to make it known that I am licensed to sell health insurance in Michigan. I rarely sell it. I do have to offer it. I don't like selling health care insurance. It's cumbersome for me, confusing to everyone. Now, understand I'm talking about major medical coverage. Going to your doctor. There are exceptions to what I said. I do suggest and offer Long Term Care coverage and Medicare Supplement plans for the retired.
The President held a press conference during the day yesterday. It was nice to see that he didn't interrupt prime time programming for a change. It's much better when few are watching. During his press conference, he said that he didn't understand the notion that government entering the health care business wouldn't be competition for the market place and can't understand why insurance companies would balk at government offering a public solution to health care in the United States.
There are a couple of simple answers to this. I have no doubt that he can't understand it. You have to believe in our market system to understand. First, let me say right off the bat that we do have a problem in this country with health care. There are problems with it. However, and this is where any liberals reading this will start seeing smoke coming from their ears, our health care system, flawed as it may be, is still the BEST HEALTH CARE AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD!
If it weren't, people from around the world would not be coming here to get their care rather than waiting on a waiting list in their own country for someone to decide they are worthy of seeing a doctor.
NOBODY in this country has to go without seeing a doctor. If you need the emergency room, you will not be turned away. If you need to see a doctor, you will be able to see one, and you won't have to wait for months to get that broken arm fixed.
But let's get to Obama's words about not understanding why anyone would have a problem with a public health system competing against the private companies. Private companies exist to make a profit. They can't exist without a profit. They must pay their sales people to offer insurance to the American people. They must pay the underwriters to write the policy. They must pay for the creation of some of the most innovative care plans ever created. Think about it. When you go to work, do you want to get paid? What if your company didn't pay you? What incentive would you have to go to work in the morning? Imagine if you called your insurance company because you have a claim and there is nobody there to answer the phone? Nobody to mail your check or pay your doctor? These are people that do this work and the companies must make a profit to pay them to do that work, and to earn money to support their own families.
How does this differ from the Federal government if they manage to get into the insurance business? Government doesn't have to work for a profit. If they run short on funds, they can always go into deficit spending....again. They can have Congress appropriate more money to pay for it. Where doesn't Congress get their money? From you and I. TAXES.
Government has no need to run a profitable business. They can just go to the people for more money. So when they force insurance companies out of business and there is no more competition, when they need more money, their argument will be, 'you don't want to go without health insurance for your children, so we're going to raise taxes'. Again and again.
Can you name one business that has ever been run successfully by the government? I can. The military. That's it. They botched Social Security. They plunged Medicare/Medicaid into deep debt and will be operating in the red in a matter of months if it hasn't happened already.
How do I know they will force insurance companies out of business? Have you tried to find a private insurance for someone over the age of 65? You can't. The best that the elderly have is Medicare Supplement. It "supplements" Medicare...which as I mentioned is operating in the red. And the rates on the Medicare Supplement continue to rise. Why? Because Medicare doesn't have the money any longer, and more and more are reaching the age of the elderly. The baby boomers started retiring and that will only grow for the next 20 years. In addition, medical advances are keeping people alive longer and longer. This will increase expenses.
Competition works. Capitalism works. The free market system works. Obama putting a public health system into place is not competition. It's taking a level playing field and tilting it towards government.
We now know that the Federal Government has forced states to take the so-called stimulus money. We know that the Federal Government fired the CEO of GM and they have their own people running the new Government Motors even if in the background pulling the strings. We now know that Bank of America was forced to take on a bad investment (Chairman Bernanke is dealing with that in hearings today). Each thing that Government gets into gets corrupted. The one success story they have is the military and they are cutting funding for the military. Of course, we also know that the dictator Obama took over ABC on Wednesday night under the guise of answering health care questions.
If Obama's health plan was the be all and end all as he tries to make it sound, why did he have to have the infomercial last night on ABC where there was no opposition allowed? No hard questions asked. Why was the deck stacked against those opposing his plan? Why did he have to have the hand picked audience where there was no dissenting point of views permitted? If his plan will stand up to scrutiny, he wouldn't have had to take over ABC for the night and stage that dog and pony show.
There are problems with our Health Care in this country, but it's the best health care in the world. Let the professionals in the health care industry solve the problem and leave government out of it. Leave Obama out of it. To have government or the dictator Obama take it over is only guaranteeing that our standard of health care will drop to the level of the Canadian system (see the link below). The British system, the German system. All failing. All expensive and paid for with higher and higher taxes and still they don't have enough money.
If Obama's plan is so good, why is it that he has to provide for Unions to not have to pay taxes on their health care while everyone else does? This is another example of Obama trying to walk into a window. The "pain" is hidden, but it's there when you hit it.
You're welcome to comment.
Brett
The Pesman trail wanders through a Bristlecone Pine forest but also has stunning views of the open tundra.
The beginning of the trail, while packed dirt, does ascend 500 or more feet in a short series of switch backs.
One of the Bristlecones along the trail
When the trail levels out, it leaves the forest for a rocky slope with tundra views.
Looking west. The two peaks on the far right of the picture are Chief Mountain and Squaw Mountain.
The upper trailhead. Near the car is a picnic table.
Near the upper trailhead is the intersection with the Alpine Garden Trail. There are also great views of the Continental Divide.
