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PUBLIC
FINANCING
Government must PAY for you to enjoy such a right. Imagine that agency, it is still a consolidation of power, and thus zero competition
I wanted to purchase a beautiful revolver that cost $1,200.00. I is involved. Granted, having an iron-fisted monopoly can certainly
reached into my pockets, and I am shy by an amount of $1,100.00. command lower prices from the doctors, hospitals and pharmaceu-
Should I go to Congress and DEMAND that they pay for the re- tical companies; however, how many of the doctors, hospitals, and
volver of my interest? I could say it is my right and the fact I cannot pharmaceutical companies will agree to see such patients? And
afford it, suggest I am being denied my right to bear arms as pro- those providers that do agree; how long can they offer a plethora
tected by the 2nd amendment of our Constitution. of services before they go broke with such a reduction of price
controls and mandates? (and I use the word agree loosely given that
Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, I suspect both would a mandate or a take it or leave it stance, is hardly the concept of
tell me that it is not the obligation of the federal government to pay agreeing; it is coercion).
for one to enjoy their right to the extent they want to exercise such.
And I would agree with them. However, when it comes to health- Consider Medicaid and the current ACA dilemma? There is a
care, and even assuming healthcare was a protected right under the reason why so many insurance companies are not offering services
Constitution, it does not suggest that the government has an affir- under the ACA. They are tired of losing money. Likewise, with
mative obligation to pay for you to enjoy such a right. And like gun physicians accepting Medicaid; they have a difficult time making
ownership, affordability is a different concept than the right itself. money given the low reimbursement rates, and thus many doctors
Bernie Sanders has confused the word “RIGHT” with “ENTITLE- do not accept Medicaid.
MENT” of payment to enjoy such a “Right.”
Another element of the Bernie Sanders plan is to “eliminate
Bernie Sanders then suggests that “the only long-term solution waste.” This claim is very difficult to take seriously given that
to America's health care crisis is a single-payer national health care Medicare currently wastes through fraud and abuse EVERY YEAR,
program.” Really? I am sure there are many solutions! The challenge $60 BILLION! Expanding a program that cannot control fraud and
is the definition of the word or concept of “solution.” One person’s abuse is likely to increase waste; not eliminate it, as Bernie Sanders
solution is another’s problem. And suggesting that the government suggests. If Bernie is so interested in reducing waste, why doesn’t
is the only solution via single payer is the definition of socialism. he propose a plan to accomplish this now; or for that matter, 10
True believers in socialism have a view that ONLY the government years ago? He has no plan or a clue how to accomplish such.
can solve problems of the citizens (and in Bernie’s case, even non-
citizens) they govern. Thus, if you like the efficiency of the U.S. Bernie suggests that a typical family would save $5,000 per year in
Postal system, with the compassion of the IRS at Pentagon prices; premium costs under his plan. That is an astonishing claim given that
you’re going to love government controlled healthcare! Further- President Obama made a similar claim about the ACA. Obama sug-
more, single payer can achieve lower cost; however, at the expense gested a savings of $2,500 per family. How well did that claim work
of the physicians and hospitals by cutting their reimbursements sub- out? It didn’t! Healthcare premiums increased, and they continue to
stantially, which would create a smaller supply of physicians and increase which is why more and more Americans are opting to pay the
hospitals, and then waiting lines. penalty to the tune of $31 billion in the aggregate in 2016. Paying the
penalty is evidence that millions of Americans do not have insurance
Consider the impact of a single-payer system. If we were to award under Obamacare yet for some odd reason, we never hear about the
only one private insurance company to control all insurance in the millions of Americans that have been effectively shut out from buying
USA, wouldn’t that create a monopoly or at least a monopsony? health insurance due to the high cost and low availability of health
The difference between a monopoly or monopsony is the former plans and doctors. Welcome to government-run healthcare.
is a single seller, and the latter is a single purchaser. Regardless, con-
centration is funneled into one private company. I suspect that most The inherent challenge with socialized healthcare, or any product
Americans would be quite vocal against granting such colossal mar- for that matter, is that it creates major disruptions in the private sector,
ket power to one private company. So why is it different when the reduces innovation, reduces access, creates waiting lines and seldom
single source of power is the Federal Government? Whether we if ever accomplishes the stated objective. The evidence is all around
consolidate power to a single private firm or a single government us. Venezuela is an excellent example of socialism gone amuck. The
one choice of a loaf of bread may be cheap, but just not available; not
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