Multiple Choice
By Amit Singh | Saturday, July 11th, 2009 | PolicyI received an email from my always concerned Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA-8) asking his constituents on how to reform healthcare. As open minded as he is, he has offered us a multiple choice survey with diverse options (we even get to choose multiple of the multiple choices):
Somehow these options did not make the list:
As the healthcare debate rages on and the proponents of universal/socialized healthcare discuss “choices” it is important to challenge them with the solution of a more efficient healthcare system without the mandates, regulations and restrictions. A more fair system where politicians are not involved in which procedures are covered and which are not. A more affordable system where insurers can offer budget plans to low income families and young adults. A more proactive system where investments into new medical technologies are made because prevention is more profitable than curing. Opponents of Obama’s plans need to start offering real alternatives to shift the debate otherwise we will continue to march down the path of big government solutions for all of our problems.
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13 Responses to "Multiple Choice"
Amit,
Your options were included. He offered “Other (fill in the blank)”.
Perhaps some of what you offer should be included, however they alone will not solve the problem.
I also am not sure what the Dems are offering will solve the problem, but I think some of what they offer will do more then your alternatives alone.
For example: I think there needs to be some reform where pre-existing conditions need to be covered. However if people are allowed to pay for health care coverage out of pocket until they need expensive procedures before they sign up, how will health care coverage be affordable for anyone?
I’m all ears on ideas on how to solve what I am concerned about. I am uncertain that what is winding through Congress is going to solve my concerns, however I am pretty certain your ideas alone would not do that either.
LD, obviously you know “Other” is a way to statistically dilute all other opinions without having to say so.
healthcare is not a simple solution and really needs a holistic view of the problem and needs to answer some very difficult questions such as how much should we invest in terminally ill patients which may take a disproportionate of the resources for more preventable and curable conditions? How many cholesterol drugs could have been dispensed for the same cost it took to keep Terri Schiavo on life support 24/7 for 7 years?
Obviously it sounds heartless to say the rich will be able to get treatments the poor cannot afford, but that is also the same reason why Toyota Corollas eventually were able to have airbags and will continue to receive safety innovations pioneered with the Lexus, Benz, and other luxury brands.
I do not think the Democratic proposals would restrict the wealthy from spending more to get cutting edge health care if they could afford it.
Now, other then your last comment pointing towards how the extremely wealthy can afford everything, and how this ability to pay eventually leads towards better health care for everyone, what was your point?
How would your proposals solve the problems for society, for everyone? I am waiting to see what your holistic approach would result in. What you have proposed thus far is insufficient in my opinion.
Little david,
Pre-existing conditions can be solved through “high risk pools” allowing government to subsidize only those who actually need it, not a takeover of the entire system. And if tax credits were shifted to the individual rather than the employer, there would be far fewer pre-existing conditions in the first place because people would change their insurance coverage less often.
Amit,
Maybe you should run for congress of something
Great post, Amit!
Unfortunately, the esteemed congressman from Northern Virginia is probably less interested in actually doing the right thing than getting re-elected.
Glad to see the congressman asking such choice!
LD, “I do not think the Democratic proposals would restrict the wealthy from spending more to get cutting edge health care if they could afford it.”
the Dem proposals would lessen the number of people who could afford their own healthcare. A family making $150K/year with 2 kids may be on the cusp of being able to afford it depending on where they live. the lower the barrier to cutting edge health care the more demand there is for it
what was my point for “eventually leads towards better health care for everyone” I wasn’t just talking about the extremely weathly (i.e. Rolls Royce). But folks would can afford a Camry but not a Lexus whose revenue can also go towards pioneering technologies.
as far as solving problems for society for everyone, let’s be honest with ourselves. there are going to be people who are going to eat twinkies, smoke cigarrettes, drink whiskey, etc and we can’t control them. there is no perfect solution. the best we can do is let the freedom of ideas pursue a variety of partial solutions which together generally takes care of the population. solutions imposed by force (i.e. taxing your income to pay for someone else) are creating more problems than they are fixing.
EJ, funny I was thinking you should run for Delegate or something
JR, thanks but I don’t think Moran is worried about re-election but rather how he can get more contributions from lobbyists to spend on fun stuff like his brother’s campaigns
Under our current system, there are too many people that can not even afford the Yugo sitting in the junkyard. When they get sick, they die, unless evolution gives them better genes.
However the Blue Dog Democrats have drawn a line in the sand for what they demand in a new health care system. Liberals are already bucking at what the Blue Dogs demand. Go visit Vivian Paige’s website to sample an example.
Personally, I think the Blue Dogs have bitten off more then they can chew. Can they influence the debate with their small numbers so that everything gets drawn up into a nice Ditty Bag that satisfies everyone? I doubt it.
However the Blue Dogs proposal includes many issues that, if they are not solved, are not really going to solve our health care problem.
I’d provide some links to what I was talking about, but J.R. discourages links. Google Blue Dogs and explore for yourself.
LD, those who can’t afford that junkyard Yugo do already have a safety net with Medicare and Medicaid. I am looking for the 95% solution here. there are always going to be the tear-jerker cases with the working mom of 2 with terminal cancer, etc. The problem is we cannot solve every problem and in this particular case the best we can hope for is that her family, neighbors and friends can give her some support.
btw, I didn’t know JR didn’t like links. feel free to do it on my posts as long as they are legitimate
Amit,
Medicare is only for those who are retired. If you are working poor, you do not qualify for Medicaid.
Besides, we also need to do something about both of these programs. Without any changes what-so-ever these two programs alone would bankrupt the federal government.
On links,
I think J.R. has things set up so that this website automatically routes comments that include links to the moderation bucket. There are legitimate reasons for this, and after moderation, comments containing links might receive approval. However, how long would it take to receive approval and how far would the conversation have gone in the meantime? Perhaps I have nothing to fear, but I just try to avoid making comments that contain links.
David, JR has nothing to do with it. The Spam filter has its own programming, and if you saw the links it blocks, you would understand what a mess the comments section would be without it.
That said, you can always mention whatever website you want to link to. Google works quite easily if you know what you’re looking for. Or add some spaces.
B.K,
Thanks for the amplification.
I doubt I would try to link (at least I hope) to a link that would be equated as being spam. I’ll try experimenting in the future by adding links in my comments.
I’m still pretty lazy though. Every one of my links requires me to refer to a letter by letter cheat sheet which has the formula for an HTML link.
Of course, if you anyone thinks a comment caught in a spam filter erroneously, email me on the contributor page and I’ll see if I can free it up.
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