AND THE MONEY CAME ROLLING IN

So now a new debate starts over the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. The House passed a bill which is now in the hands of that most deliberate body, the US Senate. We are already hearing that some of the more “moderate” Republican Senators are troubled by the bill and may vote against it. I find it almost comical how when the Democrats want a bill passed they call a meeting and tell their members how they will vote or else. The party leadership usually gets their way. The Republicans don’t seem to have that kind of clout with their own members. Controlling Republicans is like herding cats. They just do their own thing.

I think a brief history of health insurance is in order now. The whole concept was started by some doctors who got together to set up a prepaid health care system. To them it was a guarantee that their incomes would become more steady and that as medical care got more expensive small increases in insurance costs would be more palatable than huge costs of the care itself. The idea caught on as more and more doctors signed on for the programs.

Then there was a time of financial upheaval in this country and the government decided that wages and prices had to be frozen. For employers to get and keep qualified employees they decided to offer health care insurance instead of increasing wages. That worked and it worked well for a long time. In fact it worked so well that employees came to expect health care insurance as a part of their compensation package. Labor unions began demanding more and more coverage as a part of their negotiating contracts. When wage and price controls were ended, the healthcare insurance continued.

With all this insurance available, tons of money poured into the healthcare industry. Costs of everything rose to almost unsustainable levels. Hospitals began charging obscene fees for simple procedures. Pharmaceutical manufacturers started to charge more and more and got away with it. Medical schools increased the cost of a medical degree to such a point that young doctors couldn’t afford school. When they finally did get their license, they required exorbitant salaries to start work. And the money poured in.

Many people were essentially cut out of the care system. They couldn’t afford the insurance and they couldn’t afford the care. So, “big brother” Barack Obama steps in.

He devised a wealth redistribution plan which would require all Americans and especially young able bodied citizens to pay for the healthcare insurance of those who either couldn’t or wouldn’t work to pay for their own. And the money poured into the healthcare industry. Rather than reducing the costs of everything, more money just caused everything to increase. It seems to happen that way.

It is easy to see the upshot of this excess. Insurance companies are now going bankrupt and leaving the system. Insurance plan costs began rising to unsustainable levels. People are screaming about the cost of their premiums and their deductibles. Any way you examine it, when you mess with something that is successful, you usually screw it up. Congratulations Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats. You messed it up.

Now the Democrats, along with a very compliant liberal media, are blaming the Republicans for the mess they themselves caused and they are getting away with it. The Republicans cannot win.

I think very soon we will have a single payer system and that will be in place until we learn that isn’t workable either. Remember this all started with a scheme to redistribute the wealth of the American people. In other words, Socialism. Sorry liberals, that has never worked and it won’t work now.

Ron Scarbro