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 No
one likes to admit their limitations. Every year around Father’s Day I’m
reminded of a friend of mine whose five-year-old son decided to surprise
him by mowing the lawn. Sneaking into the garage, there was no degree of
will that could have compensated for his lack of capacity to fill the
mower’s gasoline tank and push that mammoth machine. Yet, in his mind,
his sheer determination was requirement enough to cut the lawn. At
least, of course, until the majority of the gasoline spilled on the
garage floor and he realized that he could barely reach the mower
handles.
Washington doesn’t like to admit its limitations either – especially
when it comes to issues like government-run health care where its
political will far outweighs its proven capacity. Many Americans agree
that health reform is necessary. But brewing among this consensus is the
not-quite-fully-formed or fully-articulated fear, that amidst the
enthusiastic reform-minded hubbub, Washington is about to throw the baby
out with the bath water.
The bath water, of course, is the murky, confusing, ineffective
inconsistencies and failures of our current health care system. We
couldn’t be happier to throw that water out. But we want to know that in
the midst of the political deal-making in backrooms of the Senate, or
among the clamoring of the committee rooms of the House, in the hurried
tumult of Administration offices, and at the late-night strategy session
occurring along lobbyist-lined streets of DC, that someone, somewhere is
going around reminding everyone: “Watch out for the baby.” We want to
know that overseeing the politicians and bureaucrats marching to the
same we-must-get-it-done-now chant that brought us the stimulus, GM
bailouts, and TARP, is someone occasionally pulling the reigns saying,
“Whoa, there. Don’t throw out the baby.”
The baby, of course, is what’s right with our system. It’s the health
care coverage that works for many Americans. It’s the ability to choose
between options. It’s the security that comes with knowing there are
incentives for researchers, physicians, and providers to be looking for
the next treatment, the next breakthrough, or next cure that just may
save our wives, our best friends, our sons, or even our own lives.
While the rhetoric coming from Washington may sound good, we know the
reality is that when it comes to the government there are more paths to
making things worse than making things better. Concern over
government-run health care is not based on greater cynicism or lesser
intelligence on the part of the American people, but rather on
experience. After all, we have the grand track record of governmental
failures that brought us the likes of Katrina and the Bridge to Nowhere.
When it comes to mom’s worsening Alzheimers’, dad’s depression, our
child’s cancer diagnosis, or our own heart disease, waiting in line for
health care rationed by 9-to-5 bureaucrats in the ornate buildings of
Washington, DC is not just unsettling, it is downright terrifying.
A government take-over of health care – in whatever iteration finally
presents itself to Congress – will be the slow suffocation of the
doctor-patient relationship in America. This is because at the heart of
government-run health care is the increase in political – rather than
personal – control over health. In this world of “free” care, federal
deficits will reach epic heights. Unelected bureaucrats, attempting to
control costs, will ration care while simultaneously skirmishing with
interest groups guarding their turfs. Congress will join in the
fractured, irrational, and parochial decision-making. Doctors will duck
for cover, attempting to salvage the viability of their industry. Caught
in the political crossfire will be patients, “universally-covered” but
with no control, no choice, and no voice.
We don’t have to guess at what mechanics of government-run health care
will look like. Here’s what we know already about US government-run
health care for our elderly and poor:
• Medicare and Medicaid are riddled with waste, fraud and abuse:
Medicare estimates it makes over $10 billion in payments “in error”
annually. Medicaid's payment “errors” in 2007 equaled a whopping $32.7
billion.
• Medicare is insufficient: 9 out of 10 Medicare beneficiaries pay for
additional coverage to supplement traditional Medicare coverage.
• Finding a doctor is not as easy as it once was: 28% of Medicare
beneficiaries looking for a primary care physician had trouble finding
one, up from 24% the year before.
• Doctors are frustrated: across the nation physicians are turning away
Medicare patients because of the diminished reimbursements and the
growing delay in payments; only 50% of physicians now accept Medicaid.
• The system is controlled by politics: even tweaking a fee schedule is
the equivalent to the closing of a military base to the hospitals,
physicians, nursing homes, and durable medical equipment suppliers who
rely on the system.
• And, finally, Medicare is on a crash course for catastrophe: with 79
million baby boomers poised to become eligible for this health coverage,
Medicare is set to literally run out of money in only eight years.
But instead of taking action to protect Medicare from looming bankruptcy
for the seniors who rely on it, politicians are instead arguing for the
largest entitlement expansion in forty years. It is as backwards as
backwards comes.
An examination of government-run health care in other nations makes one
thing is clear: no matter the degree of good intentions at its
inception, a government takeover of health care with undoubtedly lead to
health care rationing. In Great Britain, the government rationing board,
NICE, has ruled that seniors with macular degeneration had to go blind
in one eye before the government would give them a drug to save the
other eye. This ruling was not isolated policy. In fact, in an effort to
control costs, NICE uses a formula that calculates the duration that a
patient is likely to benefit from a treatment. In other words, the older
you are the less likely you are to receive health care.
While many tout universal health insurance, insurance does not necessary
mean care. In fact, in nations with government-controlled health care
often it means rationed care and long waiting lists. At any given time
750,000 Britons - more than the population of the entire Fourth
Congressional District - are waiting for admission to government
hospitals. In Canada, more than 800,000 patients are on waiting lists
for medical procedures. Many of these individuals suffer chronic pain
and some die awaiting treatment. Their delayed care is denied care.
Not only is government-run health care not what we want, it’s not what
we can afford. If, as expected, health care reform costs a staggering
$1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, Americans should brace for massive
tax increases that extend deep into the middle class. Sadly, to compound
the grim forecast is the fact that cost estimates for government
programs have a track record of being wildly optimistic. When Medicare
was instituted in 1965, it was estimated that the cost of Medicare Part
A would cost $9 billion by 1990. In actuality, it set us back $67
billion. Similarly, in 1987, Medicaid's special hospitals subsidy was
supposed to cost $100 million annually; it cost more than 100 times as
much. Particularly in the light of recent unprecedented spending and
debt from bailouts, if the current cost estimate is off by a similar
magnitude, we would be enacting a new entitlement literally with the
capacity to financially ruin our nation.
So yes, the baby is on the line. Some politicians in Washington are
convinced that they are smart enough to engineer more efficient medical
practices out of D.C. The irony, though, is that the only thing more
bureaucratic and inefficient than our current healthcare system is the
federal government. Indeed the federal government attempting to provide
health care to all Americans is like a five-year-old trying to cut the
grass. Of course, in this case though, we’ll be grappling with far more
than a dirty garage and an unkempt lawn. And no matter how good our
intentions, it is just not fair to saddle our children and grandchildren
with the cost of our health care today.
Next week, in his second of three editorials on healthcare,
Congressman Forbes explores areas in which many individuals agree in the
debate about health care reform.
June is Home Safety Month
 Every
day, accidents occurring in our homes result in the deaths of 55 people,
with another 58,000 people injured and in need of medical care. The
month of June kicks off
Home Safety Month, a time for the public to take a hands-on approach
to home safety. The
Home Safety Council, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing home injuries, is working to educate and
motivate families to take actions that will increase the safety of their
homes.
There are
simple things you can do around your home to help save lives and prevent
injuries, including many things that can be done in a few minutes by
yourself. The Home Safety Council has created ready-made home safety
resources that you can share with family members, your community
members, or your employees and coworkers to help encourage people to take a hands-on
approach to making their homes safer this June.
Falls
Did you know
that falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits among children
and are the leading cause of injury and deaths among older adults?
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Install grab bars in the tub and shower.
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Provide bright lights over stairs and steps and on landings.
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Secure handrails on both sides of the stairs and steps.
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Use a
ladder for climbing instead of a stool or furniture.
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Use
baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, if babies or toddlers
live in or visit your home.
Poisonings
Did you know
that poison kills one out of four people who die in their homes every
year? Be smart about where and how to store poisons, especially in homes
where children live or visit.
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Lock
poisons, cleaners, medications and all dangerous items in a place
where children can't reach them.
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Keep
all cleaners in their original containers. Do not mix them together.
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Use
medications carefully. Follow the directions.
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Install carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas.
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Call
the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 if someone takes poison.
This number will connect you to emergency help in your area.
Fires/Burns
Did you know
that working smoke alarms cut your family's risk of dying in a home fire
almost in half? Protect your loved ones from fires and burns in the
home.
-
Have
working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you are building a new
home or remodeling, install fire sprinklers.
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Stay
by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food.
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If
you smoke, smoke outside. Use deep ashtrays and put water in them
before you empty them.
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Only
light candles when an adult is in the room. Blow the candle out if you
leave the room or go to sleep.
Water
Did you know that children can
die in as little as an inch of water in just a few minutes?
-
Stay
within an arm's length of children in and around water. This includes
the bathtub, toilet, pools and spas – even buckets of water.
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Put a
fence all the way around your pool or spa.
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Empty
large buckets and wading pools after using them. Keep them upside down
when you are not using them.
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Make
sure your children always swim with a buddy. No child or adult should
swim alone.
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Keep
your hot water at 120 degrees F or just below the medium setting to
prevent burns.
Consider your home's danger areas and take
these simple steps to create a safer environment and reduce your
family's risk from potential injuries and disasters. To create your
hands-on home safety checklist,
click here.
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