Obamacare Revisited
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?Government does not have a track record of success...? |
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It has been a long time since I commented on Obamacare. I want to revisit where I stand on it as Ihave been mixed in my past comments. I support most of its main goals. No one in America should be financially ruined by a health crisis. No one should go without health care because they cannot afford it. No one should be trapped in a job they hate because they cannot risk losing their coverage if they leave.
I also must admit many Republicans have been vague on what would replace Obamacare. So we are where we are. Obamacare is having significant implementation issues. It was a wish list of laudable policy goals rather than good legislation. What was sold to the American people is not what we have seen; particularly how cost would come down for the average American. Obama promised premium reductions and we have not seen those. In fact as an employer my company premiums have shot up about 50%.
What many Democrats seem to think or at least publicly present is the case that regulation will squeeze evil private companies who make so much money off all of us. Therefore if Congress demands coverage for pre-existing conditions, no life time caps on expenses, and more preventive care mandated then that can all be covered at lower cost. In reality all those greedy insurance companies do not have the profits to cover all those goodies without raising premiums. So all those mandates cost us all more money.
What scares me is the real desire of many Democrats to have a government controlled single payer system. It is not that this system cannot work that frightens me. It can work to provide adequate care most of the time. Other countries do it and have achieved reasonable outcomes. The down side of national health is we do see a lack of healthcare discovery and innovation. Few great discoveries emerge out of a system that caps income and profit. The American system is sometimes unequal in outcome. Rich people get preference and can move up the line for better treatment. The flip side is profit makes people want to take risks and find solutions that make them oodles of money.
Obamacare will not be financially viable as it stands. Covering all those new folks who are getting older and fatter is not a winning formula for affordability. We will either see a single payer or a free market system depending on who wins future elections. Republicans must show their free market ideas can cover all of us and still lower or control cost. They must show how their system will help the poor or they will not get their plan implemented. To date they have not done that. Democrats must show they can control costs and still provide outstanding care. If they ration too much they will destroy innovation. America cannot lose what makes us unique, and that is a history to use capitalism to create great products and services.
Obama has his heart in the right place but his financial acumen is the problem. You cannot give more without transferring cost to someone else. He made the case it is greedy insurance companies who had the money to pay for all of this. That is just not true and we are seeing the true funder of Obamacare is anyone middle class and higher. Government does not have a track record of great success when it runs programs. Medicare is well liked but a financial disaster. Hopefully Obamacare will find ways to accomplish what it promised and we will see reduced cost without a reduction in care. I remain a skeptic it will achieve either.
Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.
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