I'm Just Sayin'

This campaign season, we are hearing the term "affordable health care" tossed back and forth between candidates. Each candidate , Republican and Democrat, is addressing the health care issue in their speeches and dialog. At least they are bringing up the subject. It is a "hot topic". What does the term "affordable health" care really mean? In some cases, it means the availability of health care, while in other cases  it refers to the price paid for health care. In both cases, the actual issue is deciding who is going to pay for the extra health care benefits. As we strive to make  medical care, both immediate and long term medical attention, more easily available for everyone...and this is a worth while goal...we must be honest about what we are really doing. What we are really doing is deciding who is going to pay for the improved access to medical care. I have just repeated myself on purpose. Nothing we do comes without a cost. The misunderstood part about the term price is that price and cost are not the same thing. (I've been reading the writings of Thomas Sowell.)

If we lower what we pay for a service or goods..the price we pay for health care in this case,  the cost has not changed.   Somebody will have to make up the difference between the lowered price we are paying and the actual cost required to pay for the health care. In the case of providing health care for those who can't pay any of the price, that somebody will have to pay all the costs. What we are talking about here is a redistribution of wealth. What we really mean by "affordable health care for all" is that we want the haves to pay the medical expenses of the have nots or have littles.

 If we want to lower the costs to the haves, of paying to care for the have nots, we are talking about a wholly different subject. We would now have to seek to lower the cost, not by regulating the price  hospitals pay for the goods and services they buy to resell to us...those who need medical attention. This is where I believe we should begin as we attempt to offer better medical services to America. I don't have specific numbers, but consider what percentage of a hospital budget is earmarked for legal expenses as a result of medical malpractice suits. What part of a hospital's budget is eaten by bureaucratic hurdles..government red tape? What part of your dentist's office overhead is spent trying to collect his fees from insurance companies? The key to better health services is increased efficiency and less government intrusion. Actually, less government intrusion will result in increased efficiency.

So when you hear a (presidential) candidate talk about affordable health care...remember what he is really asking for. He is asking for our tax dollars to make up the difference between the price people pay for their health coverage and the actual cost of that coverage. By offering lower health care prices to "everyone", we will be demanding tax dollars to pay the costs.