Personally, I do NOT believe that anyone has a universal right to healthcare. Just as no one has a universal right to a home, a job, food and water. This sense that people feel they are entitled to healthcare regardless of who pays for it is destructive. Yes everyone regardless of their political leanings want everyone to have the opportunity to obtain affordable healthcare. I do not know anyone who is disputing that. The differences lie in what policies can be implemented in order to achieve that end result. The political right wants more competition in the private healthcare market, and the political left wants to scrap the market all together and let the government provide healthcare. I believe that the later is NOT the best way to achieve universal access.
The government that can provide for your healthcare can just as easily take it away when you put too much burden onto the system. Not too mention if the government is covering all the costs, people will abuse the system and go to the hospital for every little thing knowing they do not have to pay for it. And the United States is much different compared to all of the other countries which have government-run healthcare. I vehemently oppose the welfare state, but in Nordic countries for example, where they have very large welfare states, the people who receive the welfare actually work and contribute to the tax base that funds the welfare. In the United States, those on government programs choose not to work or contribute anything to the system while taking out all of the benefits. We have a segment of the population now that lives solely off the teat of the United States government.
And where would that money even come from for an entirely new entitlement program? Half of the American population no longer pays any taxes. And in countries with government-run healthcare, taxes are high. Countries like Norway and Scotland rely on revenue from oil drilling to pay for their expansive welfare states, while other countries fund theirs through high levels of progressive taxation and redistribution of wealth. The wealth is leaving those countries though, and eventually the oil will run out. Europe is already tearing itself apart because many of the EU member-states can no longer afford to pay for all of these benefits. Look at Greece. If we were to institute government-run healthcare, we would end up the same way Greece has become. A country where no one pays taxes, and the government gives out more and more perks to the people till the debt incurred implodes and crashes everything. And you cannot just print more money, as this would lead to hyperinflation and destroy the dollar.
Let us not forget the fact that Americans are less healthier than our counterparts overseas which contributes enormously to our healthcare costs. I have Crohn's Disease, and my medical costs are through the roof at times. I am an unemployed college student and I still have medical bills I am trying to pay off from years ago. All of you young people who are so big on wanting the government to give you free healthcare, be warned you will have to pay an arm and a leg once you finish college and have a stable job to pay for people like me. And considering most of you want to live in big progressive cities with a high costs of living, good luck. Couple that with inflation and you will be living out on the street before too long when food and energy prices soar.
I do however believe that the United States can have top of the line health coverage and access for everyone. Just that the overly-bureaucratic, expensive, and slow-delivery government-run (single-payer) system is not the way to go. We in the United States have the best healthcare in the world. We can see doctors easily without any huge waits, we have high rates at detecting and curing cancers in early stages. All of the major medical technological advancements are thanks to the United States. Our system however is just too expensive!
What I believe we need to do in the United States is increase competition within the healthcare market, coupled with some major reforms. The first is to completely open up the marketplace. Make health insurers all over the United States finally have to compete with one another. Break up the health insurance monopolies in each state that keep us stuck in the same expensive plans. The perfect example of doing this would be the automotive industry. The auto companies compete nationwide to offer us the best product possible. The most reliable car, with all of the latest technological and safety features, solid gas mileage, all at the best price possible. The companies who do this sell the most cars. The ones that don't eventually close down. This would cause the health insurance companies to have to offer the best coverage at the most affordable price. And as the prices go down over time, more and more Americans will be able to buy into the system, expanding coverage, and costs all Americans less in the long-run. And buy plans anywhere in the United States that best fit their needs, instead of under Obamacare, making them have to pay more for extra coverage they do not even need.
Make sure health insurers cannot discriminate against people with preexisting conditions or raise their premiums for getting sick. That is an area I have personally had trouble with before. Allow workers to take their health insurance with them when they leave, so that they do not have to stay at jobs they hate all for the health insurance. Allow tax credits to lower and middle class families to help them purchase quality health insurance that covers their needs. Expand health savings accounts. Allow for the creation of a national pool that allows businesses to work together to insure their workers. We need medical malpractice reform too, to get rid of frivolous lawsuits that add extra costs onto the system.
The market is in my view the most cost-effective way we will ever achieve universal healthcare access. Lets move away from all this talk of a bloated healthcare system like Canada or the UK and move to one like Switzerland has. Switzerland uses the market forces to provide private, affordable, high-quality health coverage to its people at 40% less per capita than the United States. Their system requires that each citizens has health insurance, but have lots of plans to choose from for obtaining that. And they have universal health coverage. Certain policies that lower the costs for consumers if they get the needed check-ups and screenings. They also have a national pool in which all of the insurance companies contribute, to cover for any heavy losses.
I am still doing my research but I would love to see the United States use a market-driven model that provides affordable, high-quality health insurance to all Americans, that does not rely on big government, does not matter where you are employed, and does not give by payouts to large pharmaceutical companies. All of which Obamacare unfortunately does. If Obama really wanted to cement his legacy, he would allow for his law to be repealed, start over with a clean slate, and work with Congress to get a bill passed with overwhelming support from both sides, that will finally enact strong reforms that do not rely solely on the government. This is an issue I am passionate about.
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