A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

We Can’t Take Our Eyes Off Health Care

There is so much going on right now that can tempt our focus away from defeating the Democrats' health care reform.  Everyone agrees that reform is needed, but please do not be fooled about the president, Senator Reid, and Speaker Pelosi's intentions: they want a government take-over of the health care industry.

And, according to the Financial Times,  they're getting closer to their collectvist dream:

Barack Obama’s healthcare reform, the signature policy of his presidency, looks likely to clear its most formidable obstacle by Christmas.

Within the next few days, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office will give its fiscal “scoring” of the compromise reached on Tuesday between five moderate and five liberal Democratic senators.

If the CBO were to pronounce the package at least deficit-neutral – a big if, given the body’s ­Jesuitical approach to bud­get accounting – the way would probably be cleared for a rapid vote in the Senate. Since the House of Representatives has already passed its own 1,990-page bill, only a seismic intervention could stop it from reaching Mr Obama’s desk within the ensuing weeks.

Did you know that this bill would not take effect until 2013, after the next presidential election?  Would you like to take a guess why it is that this president is pushing so hard now for something that won't be implemented until after he gets a shot at another four years in office?

Of course the current leadership in congress and the White House insist that they don't want to run the health care system...but, then go out of their way to point out how "successful" Medicare (a government run and funded program) has been...but they don't want to take health care over...but look how good Medicare has been, so it might not be that bad if we did...but we're not, we promise.

From the National Review:

The model for how the new “public option” would be run was supposed to be Medicare. But while liberals admire Medicare’s elaborate price-control system, they are basically alone in that view. Others recognize that the program, while popular with its enrollees, is far from a model of efficiency or cost control. For four decades, Congress and program administrators have tried to slow spending growth with price cuts and bureaucratic payment regulations. It hasn’t worked.

The result has been cost-shifting to private payers, even as Medicare’s overall costs have continued to escalate rapidly. Moreover, Medicare’s fee-for-service payment model encourages fragmented and uncoordinated care, driving up costs for everyone buying services, not just the government. Cuts in fees do nothing to control the volume of services provided, which is the real source of rising costs.

We don't have to take this lying down.  If you care about the fate of this country's economic and health care systems, PLEASE contact your House and senate representatives.  Tell them you will not vote for anyone who supports this monstrosity.  I know it might not seem like much, but an email and a phone call to your rep's office WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  They work for you.