Healthcare plans

According to FoxNews, Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank said, "Congress has to be able to tell people they are not getting everything they want." Although he was talking about Social Security at the time, it applies as readily to “free” healthcare. There is no such thing as “free”; it always costs somebody something.

Here in Oregon, we already have a form of Socialized medicine in the Oregon Health Plan. It is to my great embarrassment that Oregon’s plan is often held up as an example of what we don’t want in our country! One of the stories often quoted is The one about Barbara Wagner, who is covered through the state of Oregon's government health care plan, and was denied an important cancer drug she requested and instead was offered a drug for assisted suicide. Her doctor offered hope in the new chemotherapy drug Tarceva, but the Oregon Health Plan sent her a letter telling her the cancer treatment was not approved. Instead, the letter said, the plan would pay for comfort care, including "physician aid in dying," better known as assisted suicide.

Even Joe Lieberman calls for a stop to pushing through this nationalized health plan. He urges a more gradual movement because of economic concerns.

My healthcare platform includes the following planks:
• Bring insurance companies under the Sherman Anti-trust laws like every other business.
• Make insurance portable so that it can be purchased across state lines. When I moved from Michigan to Oregon 5 years ago, my car & health insurance premiums each decreased by exactly one half. If we could buy across state lines, the competition would force prices to drop ~ if used in conjunction with the Sherman Anti-trust law.
• Tort reform. Those who have been injured permanently and catastrophically should never be left without medical coverage, but no one should get rich on a malpractice suit including the lawyers. Tort reform has worked remarkably in Texas and doctors flocked to the Lone Star state in the first 3 years since Tort reform was enacted in 2004.
• It is also within the scope of Congress’ enumerated powers to allow providers who provide pro bono care to indigent patients a federal tax credit equal to the Medicare/Medicaid payment that would otherwise be paid.
• We also need to make sure that all recipients of non-emergency care are citizens. We cannot afford to continue to provide “free” care, which as I stated before is not free.

Whatever we decide, we must not rush into a plan that has not been well thought out regarding outcomes. It can be compared to going to the doctor for chest pain and being rushed into open heart surgery without testing. Something needs to be done, but we need to make sure that we are doing the right thing at the right time.