Medicare is in Trouble

… and you can’t find a politician anywhere who is serious about it. The NYT reports on the entitlement programs woe’s accurately, but then slips easily into the same tired phrases about taxes and controlling costs through government intervention. A responsible voter needs to get educated about health care costs.

I recommend five short, readable articles that break it down for us simple folks. Four were written by John Stossel and approach the issue from a conservative, free-market perspective (You can find socialized medicine articles everywhere). The final one was written by Robert Samuelson, a respected, non-partisan economics reporter. He simply makes the case that politicians and voters need to stop dodging this issue and face it head-on.

Regarding nationalized health care, Stossel reminds us of a simple economic principle: If something of value (health care) is given away, it will become scarce, necessitating government rationing. Cuba, Canada, and Britain are examples.

Stossel maintains that our approach to health insurance contributes to our health care woes. Much like “free” government care, insurance shields the true cost from the consumer, causing market distortions.

In the third article, he offers some remedies that include cheaper policies with higher deductibles, medical savings accounts and paying more costs out of pocket. In the fourth article, he featues real world examples of how these ideas are working right now.

But what about those who simply cannot afford health care? This 5% - 15% of the population should not be used as an excuse for government to take over our entire health care system. You don’t apply a 100% solution to a 10% problem.

OK, what about those who are uninsurable due to preexisting conditions, or those who have hit their catastrophic cap? They are an even smaller percentage, and maybe government should step in to help these people. I am not against all government intervention: I want it on our borders 24/7, or when my house is on fire.

The final article I recommend is from Robert Samuelson. We need to address health care costs, and he tells us why in a nonpartisan way. He also explains the scope of the problem; and it’s not good. Conservative solutions involve lower taxes but more out of pocket expenses. Liberal solutions require little or no personal expense in exchange for higher taxes. Regardless of the path we eventually take, health care costs money and somebody’s gotta pay. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Making health care affordable for all is a complex issue. As with most problems, there is no one magic bullet. I’m not saying Mr. Stossel has all the answers, but he has added free market ideas to a discussion groaning under the weight of government-centric solutions. Campaign 08 is heating up, and so will the health care rhetoric. Arm yourself.

Other Resources:

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2007/08/29/media-wrong-census-uninsured-data-10-million-people