Why Are Some Republicans Looking to Add More Government to Health Care?

Republicans spent nearly a decade promising to rid us of the incredibly terrible law known as Obamacare.

And with very good reason.

Obamacare stripped millions of people of their insurance.  For those who survived that mass slaughter – Obamacare doubled the average insurance premium and tripled the average insurance deductible.

This after its namesake promised over and over and over again “If you like your health care plan – you can keep your health care plan.”  And promised over and over and over again premium reductions of $2,500 per year.

The woefully misnamed  “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” – was a regulatory nightmare mess.

Jonathan Gruber – the guy who wrote the mess – said this was intentional.  That the Obamacare legislative process’ “lack of transparency (was) a huge political advantage.”  And that besides, We the People are “too stupid to understand” it.

Gruber made the mess a mess – so that we would then move on to government-only medicine.  Which the Left has now embraced as Medicare for All.

Never mind the fact Medicare – as currently constituted – is at least $38 trillion short.

Never mind the fact that Medicare – as currently constituted – pays health care providers abysmally.

Which is why more and more providers – refuse to see Medicare patients.

And the providers who do see Medicare patients – charge those of us with private insurance significantly more for the same procedures to make up the government shortfall:

“Medicaid and Medicare pay significantly less than the cost of providing health-care products and services….

“As the federal deficit grows, the federal government often makes cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. This translates to a decrease in the revenue doctors and hospitals receive….

“Cost shifting occurs when a hospital or other health-care provider charges an insured patient more than it does (a Medicare/Medicaid) patient for the same procedure or service.

“Those with health insurance, in effect, pay for the financial loss hospitals incur when they provide services to (Medicare/Medicaid patients).”

The private sector has been massively subsidizing government medicine – ever since government medicine was first imposed.

So when people like Senator Bernie Sanders claim Medicare is cheaper than the private sector – they are either incredibly ignorant or lying their faces off.  It’s a good thing these people are looking to commandeer control of the entire health care sector.

So if we go to government-only Medicare for All – there is nowhere left to cost shift.  And then we start rationing medicine.  And quite quickly arrive at Sarah Palin’s death panels.

The distilled lesson from the last decade – and the last half-century-plus – is:

More government means less health coverage – for a whole lot more money.

So with that lesson learned – and tens of thousands of electoral wins earned based upon promising us less government in medicine – why are some Republicans looking to do this?

The Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 Aims to Deliver Better Health Care Outcomes and Better Health Care Experiences at Lower Costs:

“Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today released the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019–bipartisan discussion draft legislation to reduce health care costs.”

“‘There’s one issue I hear a lot about from Tennesseans, and it is, “What are you going to do about the health care costs I pay for out of my own pocket?” Well, we’ve got an answer,’ said Chairman Alexander.”

No, Senator Alexander – you absolutely do not have “an answer.”

To paraphrase the late, great Ronald Reagan:

“In this present health care crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem.”

Did Senator Alexander sleep entirely through the last decade?

Obamacare was supposed to lower health insurance costs.  It doubled and tripled them.

Medicare only lowers costs – by dramatically screwing health providers AND private insurance holders.

And in the face of all this government failure – out comes Senator Alexander waving a piece of legislation and proclaiming “We’ve got an answer.”

No, Senator – you don’t.

The only legislation that would begin to address this nightmare mess – is legislation rolling back the massive incursions into private medicine government has for decades made.

Senator Alexander’s bill – is yet another government incursion further into private medicine.

Please, Senator:

Don’t just do something – stand there.

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