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Health Care Reform on the Way

Posted by Mike on Thursday, October 08, 2009 10:22:16 AM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
As congressional leaders get more input from the concerns of real Americans, the liberal health care plan is sinking. There still is a real need for better health care. The likely result will be a boon for private insurance companies who will receive increases in premium revenues as Americans without health care coverage will be required to obtain some type of coverage to decrease per capita costs. The public option will not suffice, because of widespread opposition due to the failure of the Medicare system.

There will also have to be specific restrictions on abortion, sterilization and contraceptive funding which should never be considered as health care. In fact, state laws will be needed to prohibit insurance companies from paying for these services and prescription items.

Because of the push to mandate coverage of pre-existing conditions, which only makes sense when all are covered, medical premiums should be expected to rise. Employers will be expected to bear the brunt of these cost increases and we can expect that health insurance will become mandatory for all full time employees, again to help pay for the cost of covering more people.

There may be some cost reductions because of preventive care and elimination of emergency treatment for the uninsured.

Without the public option, we can expect less fraud and waste. This also leaves open the possibility for transitioning on a grand scale to privately operated medical cooperatives in which everyone has a voice in deciding what care is provided at the local level, and at what cost. The federal government wants to control health care.  It is only the voice of voters which keeps government in check. However, decentralization will only happen when Americans decide to take responsibility for their own health and well being.

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Redistribution not Enough

Posted by Mike on Thursday, September 17, 2009 7:19:37 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The current health care debate brings out the need to go beyond a simple redistributive model so that there can be real health care reform.

Private health insurance derives from the capitalist system. Insurance corporations are allowed to exist and regulated by the state for the purpose of making a profit for investors. Thus there is an incentive to cut costs by not providing adequate medical services. This is analogous to corporations outsourcing jobs overseas to bypass local taxation, environmental and safety standards, and to obtain a cheap source of labor. Many manufacturing jobs have already been lost in America because of this. This is not the fault of labor unions which protect workers. As there are no guarantees in life, the outsourcing of jobs happens because workers have the power to effectively demand justice. With this power comes responsibility, and the risk of possible job insecurity.

Moving beyond the capitalistic model, there is a need for all those directly affected by corporate activities, whether workers, consumers, or people living in the local community, to become stakeholders and actively involved in the decision making process. In the case of plant relocation, for example, an enterprise organized as a cooperative would factor in the harmful effects on workers and their families. Decisions could then be made perhaps for managers and workers to take a pay cut in order to make the business more competitive, or perhaps to scale back production for local consumption only. At least these alternatives would be better than stopping production altogether.

The same should apply with health care. The current proposals will not work. They will require more government spending and government mandates which will drive private health insurers out of business. Neither the American families nor the health care providers will be given a stake in decision making. That will all be done by a government czar.

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Co-ops a Good Idea Whose Time Has Come

Posted by Mike on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:27:38 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Co-ops are the best option for health care reform. The nation's stated goal is to bring all age groups and income levels on board. This can best be accomplished at the local level. Co-ops have a proven track record which includes such enterprises as Land O'Lakes creamery in Minnesota, and Kimberly-Clark in Wisconsin before it became privatized, agricultural and food distribution, student accomodations at colleges and universities, and the numerous credit unions throughout the world. Cooperatives have also been successful in the medical field and competitive with private health insurance in a number of states.

The advantage of the co-op is that it can meet local needs and is more adaptable. The very fact that the members have some ownership and control in the enterprise is itself a big plus for quality control.

Medical co-ops, in addition to meeting local needs, could focus on specific age groups to better serve the community. Thus seniors could have their own medical structures which would not be taking away scarce medical resources from younger members of society. Part of the funding could still come from public sources, especially for economically depressed areas.

It will take time, but with everyone's participation, things will improve. The role of government will be indispensable to get the cooperatives functional and off the ground.

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