More on Health Care

Let’s break this health care thing down in to something real rather than pound our podiums about “communism” and “Nazis”.  Wild assertions that the President really wants “death boards” or to destroy the Constitution are whacko.  The President wants no one in America to have to suffer without health care.  That’s the goal.  Address the goal.  Is this bill going to deliver this or not? Should we deliver this as a nation or not?  These are valid questions.  But let me suggest something concrete.  I will even use myself as an example—not even a “wild” example.

I am 39 years old and by the US insurance definition, I am “uninsured.”  That is, no American based insurance system has my coverage.  That means that if anything were to go wrong with my health now, the US based health care system would deny all coverage of it.

My son is 12 and covered by my ex-wives health care in the US.  He has a chronic medical condition that will require care his whole life.  But under current regulations, most insurance companies will see what it has cost to cover him over the course of his whole life.  Once an arbitrary “lifetime maximum” value is met, they can all deny him coverage.  Even if this limit were lifted, he will be forced to work for a large corporate employer who must cover him with their plan.  He will never be able to work independently or start his own business—the cost of self-coverage would be too high *and* they can deny covering pre-existing conditions.  You see the rules are different when you are a individual that when you are a member of a corporation.

These are not fictional situations.  This is me and my life.  My choices for me and my son are work as a slave to a Corporation or die an early death bankrupt.  That’s the America we live in.  Work for a corporation, give all your income to them, or go to an early grave with nothing to pass on your children.  I can not imagine a more un-American concept.

You can not apply Capitalism to this system.  “Deregulating” health care will eliminate some red-tape which will remove some costs.  This is not insignificant.  But the flaw isn’t in the government oversight.  The flaw is that economic laws can not be applied to human life.  Again I will say that when the product being sold is Life, then the demand is infinite and the supply limited.  This means you will pay any amount to get Life to exclusion of all other goods.  The “market” will be split between those that can afford to pay and those who can not.  Failure to pay will mean early death and economic ruin for your family.  Even if we could as a culture buy in to such a system, I can not imagine we would choose it.

For decades now, Americans have believed their health care system is the best; that the whole world wants to come to America for a variety of reasons including the great health care.  This belief is false.  Many around the world are appalled at how we treat the poor and visitors to our country.  Sure some of the very rich will fly in to Boston for world-class medical care.  But 99.999% of Americans will never need that care and many that need it will never get it because it will be denied by their insurance companies.

The American system can deny any treatment that proves unprofitable.  They can drop anyone who suddenly becomes gravely ill.  They can plunge any family in to a nightmare of litigation over claims in order to "save costs."  They can pay dozens of professionals to work 24x7 to keep your petitions from being actioned.  They can do this because it makes money.  Because it is good Capitalism. 

The whole point of this health care bill today is not to establish an unchangeable medical system that will cripple America.  The point of this change is to establish that Americans have a guaranteed right to health care regardless of who they chose to work for, regardless of where they live, and regardless of their income bracket.  We can work out the financials and policies as we go.  But we have to start here.  All Americans are granted the right to Live.  The Constitution doesn't officially grant us this right.  But also true is that the Constitution says *nothing* about the right to Capitalism.  Capitalism does not equal Freedom.  Capitalism in business is fabulous.  Capitalism as the judge of human life is not.

We the People have established this Consitution of the United States.  We the People entrust the government to promote the general Welfare.  We the People should be granted Life by our government.