Healthcare, Take 5

President Trump’s decision to stop subsidizing insurance companies as part of Obamacare last week made liberals’ heads explode.  A Federal judge had already ruled President Obama’s executive order directing subsidies to the insurance companies unconstitutional; since Article One, Section Nine of the Constitution states that “no money shall be drawn from the treasury; but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”  In other words, only Congress has the power to allocate money.  According to liberal logic, violating the Constitution (and Federal law) is always justified by good intentions.

 

The Democrats quickly responded to President Trump’s actions by accusing him of sabotaging one of President Obama’s signature legislative achievements.  Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) went so far as to compare President Trump’s actions to arson.  In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week”, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that she will remain in Congress to defend the Affordable Care Act; the 2500-page law which she encouraged everyone to pass without even reading.   She may overestimate the necessity of her presence since all of the Senate Democrats (and Susan Collins) have duct-taped themselves to the healthcare law.

 

For a short period of time, it appeared as if the Democrats may have done all that whining and fear mongering for nothing; since Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) came forward with a “bipartisan” agreement that would continue the bailouts of insurance companies for the next two years.  However, their plan reached a little bit of a road block when President Trump spoke out against the deal on Twitter this morning, saying “I can never support bailing out ins co’s who have made a fortune w/ O’Care.”    The President had previously spoken out on the deal during a speech to The Heritage Foundation last night, saying “I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.”   

 

While politicians preoccupy themselves with bringing down the cost of health insurance, an equally important conversation needs to take place as to what makes health care so expensive.  President Trump briefly touched on this topic during a cabinet meeting he held on Monday.  He mentioned his desire to rein in the out of control prescription drug prices in the United States to make them comparable to what other countries pay for the same exact drugs.  But considering the fact that Big Pharma has bought and paid for many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, controlling prescription drug prices will be an uphill battle.  Thanks a lot, Swamp people.     

 

In a recent column, Ann Coulter identified the extremely high cost of medical malpractice insurance as another factor that makes health insurance so expensive.  The high cost of the insurance gets passed down to the consumer.  The idea of tort reform, which would lower the cost of medical malpractice insurance, frequently gets tossed around on Capitol Hill but never really ends up going anywhere; since trial lawyers seeking to make a lot of money suing medical professionals have bought the influence of the Democrats.  Once again, the Swamp stands in the way of creating policies that would help the American people.        

 

Most people, especially young people, only want health insurance in case they need an emergency surgery. Unfortunately, Obamacare does not allow people to buy “catastrophic insurance plans.”  Health insurance plans on the Obamacare exchanges act as giant redistribution schemes where all people have to pay for “essential health benefits” including maternity care, regardless of whether or not they need it.  Fortunately, the internet and social media platforms could render health insurance as we know it obsolete.  Sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter have allowed people to raise money for the causes they feel passionately about.  These sites provide a perfect platform for those seeking to raise money for the cost of unexpected medical expenses.  In addition, hospitals such as St. Jude’s and Shriner’s that provide services to children with chronic illnesses run ads on TV all the time urging people to donate $19 a month.  These hospitals do not even charge parents for their children’s treatment; they rely entirely on donations from the American people, who would certainly win a gold medal in the generosity Olympics.  It’s not that the American people do not care about the poor; they just don’t trust a great big bureaucracy to manage their money efficiently.  The whole idea behind government-managed health insurance illustrates that the left sees the American public as too incompetent to make their own decisions when it comes to their finances and healthcare.  It never occurs to liberals (or the Congressional Budget Office) that some people will choose not to buy health insurance after the abolition of the individual mandate that forces them to buy insurance or pay a penalty.   

 

Other revolutionary alternatives to health insurance exist that don’t involve the Federal government.  Concierge medicine allows patients unlimited visits with their doctor in exchange for a monthly fee.  Unfortunately for the feminists, the services offered in these “unlimited visits” do not include abortions.  Dr. Josh Umbeuhr founded Atlas MD in Wichita, Kansas.  He has appeared on “Hannity” several times to promote the concept of concierge medicine, which truly exemplifies the ideal “doctor-patient relationship” that government-run healthcare seeks to abolish.  Concierge medicine allows both doctors and patients to avoid the red tape and bureaucracy associated with health insurance.  It also gives doctors more time to focus on each individual patient and allows them to employ fewer staff members; since they don’t have to spend hours processing insurance paperwork.  While Obamacare supporters obsessed over quantity (how many people have health insurance), people like Dr. Umbeuhr decided to focus on enhancing the quality of his patients’ healthcare experience.  Unfortunately, many Americans have seen the quality of their health insurance plans plummet after the passage of Obamacare.  But those who rely on the abusively biased mainstream media (and Jimmy Kimmel) for their news would probably never know that; since they choose to only highlight the stories of those who have benefitted from the law.  Most of those people who benefit from the law have their healthcare subsidized by the Federal government.   Dr. Umbeuhr describes concierge medicine in much greater detail in an interview with The Objective Standard.

 

As Congress has demonstrated itself too inept and polarized to fix our healthcare system, President Trump has reluctantly signed an executive order that would allow people to buy insurance across state lines.  This executive order would also allow people to buy lower-cost health insurance plans that can circumvent the mandates of Obamacare.  The President had previously rolled back the Obamacare contraception mandate; allowing employers to refuse to pay for their employees’ birth control if it violates their religious beliefs.  Entitled feminists in pink hats surely did not like that decision; they apparently believe that we fought a revolution against Great Britain so Sandra Fluke could have access to no-cost birth control.  The President’s actions may provide short-term relief to the victims of Obamacare but Congress still has the responsibility to provide long-term relief.       

 

Competition between health insurance companies rather than consolidation of health insurance companies will help reduce the costs for the American consumer. This model of capitalism has worked in every other aspect of American life; why not try it with health insurance?   In my opinion, health insurance should adopt the same slogan as “Lending Tree” but substitute the word “banks” for “health insurance companies.”  “When health insurance companies compete, you win.”