Lynda from Hermosa Beach asks….What do you think about the healthcare bills going through Congress and are there other solutions?

There has been much discussion about health care reform and the administration is acting as if this was the mandate for which they were elected.  In fact, the American people were unhappy with the economy and the economy is still the greatest concern of the American people today.  The Republicans grew the size of government, and in 2007 when the Democrats took the reins, things went out of control.  The health care reform packages making their way through Congress have little to do with actual reform and more to do with the government takeover of our health care system.  The House wants to fine or imprison you if you don’t buy health care.  They want to create numerous levels of bureaucracy to select who gets coverage and when.   They want an outcome based system which does little to lower cost and in fact many studies show that insurance premiums will increase under the House plan.  In the Senate they want to raise taxes for 5 years before they ever provide any health care.  There are over 4,000 pages of new regulations in the two bills and few if any members of Congress have read either bill.  It is unconscionable that any member of Congress would vote for or against any bill, yet alone bills with such a significant impact, that they have not read.

The Rasmussen poll that came out today shows that only 38% of the American people support this legislation yet it seems that this falls on deaf ears when it comes to our members of Congress. America has the best health care on the planet.  That being said, there are many ways to improve.  Many of our challenges come in the delivery of health care.  By adding interstate portability, insurance (job) portability, elimination of pre-existing conditions and tort reform we could cover more people while we also lower the cost of care and the cost of premiums.  One of the most important ways to improve is to put the consumer back in control of the cost.  Making sure the patient knows the true cost of care and giving choice along with competition will surely help.  Competing with a not for profit  government plan  is not fair competition and will take any incentive away from developing new cures and new procedures.  It will also reduce the number of insurance companies as they cannot compete with a not for profit system, thus either driving up cost, or leaving the government as the only choice.  With unemployment at a rate not seen in decades, and no signs of improvement, adding additional burdens on employers will further harm the economy and its recovery.  We should take an incremental approach to fixing the specific problems to make the best system in the world better.