Greatest Threat to American Health Care: Beltway Fever
by John LoudonAs Congressional leaders debate omnibus health insurance reform proposals, American consumers face the threat of dramatic changes to health care delivery that 100% misses the point. The entire debate is a quintessential study in “lipstick” on a pig.
The “pig” is the federal government intrusion into health insurance at all. Let me restate, the health care marketplace is so fouled up BECAUSE of government involvement, not because of too little government involvement.
Americans are frustrated and the tea partiers are an expression of this because people see both parties as totally tone deaf, failing to limit the central role of the federal government. So while the statists want to expand the role of government into a total single-payer plan, the rudderless GOP proposes a “market-based” government role in which government empowers people. Huh?
The fact is, there is no more proper Congressional role in health insurance than there is in car, home or life insurance. Insurance regulation is properly handled at the state level. So how did we get here?
The fateful machinations happened in the forties, when price and salary controls put in place by an increasingly socialistic government forced businesses to look for creative ways to attract and compensate their employees. The result, a loophole of sorts where employers could gift their employees with health insurance and deduct the premium as a cost of doing business. Voila! Just like that, the camel’s nose was under the tent and the negative ramification have perplexed patients and policy-makers ever since.
Now you have perverse questions like:
Why should my employer pick my health care?
How come a state imposed health insurance mandate only effects individual and small employer plans and leaves 60% of the market place untouched?
And my favorite: Why on earth should corporations enjoy the deduction while individuals who pay out of pocket are buying insurance with post-tax dollars?
The answer is simple. Get the federal government out of the business of manipulating the marketplace at all. Generations of Congressional leaders of both parties have refused to give up the football. Now is the time.
The point man for the Republicans is Congressman/Dr. Tom Price (R-GA). While he is right on point with some of the major principles for reform he completely misses the point that Americans are screaming “The Federal Government should not be doing these things!” True courage would have a bi-partisan group of Congressional leaders assembled in front of the Capitol, locking arms, and admitting that the government screwed up the market by getting involved and the cleanest fix is to butt out. Americans should demand no less.
With due respect to Dr. Price, it is often hard to see the forest for the trees, no matter how well-educated one is. He has the right ideas, mostly. The virulent beltway fever however has afflicted his thinking along with most of the rest of the GOP. So as a former law-maker I suggest a simple tool whereby Republicans might have a chance of winning back the country. If the Democrats are proposing an expanded federal government role, Republicans should start from a point of eliminating the federal government role. As long as Democrats are promising free lunch and Republicans are offering free bread and water Republicans and our Country will lose.
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55 Comments
Yes, could not agree more! What about giving the people the right to "collectively bargain" for their insurance back? Remember when your could get insurance through an association? The insurance lobbyists did away with that. So now all of us deal with the insurance companies alone…that is one thing the government could do that would restore competition and reduce cost to us immediately.
Push the reset button on Congress, not just the parties.
The photo of the pig speaks volumes. I am less afraid of the swine flu, than I am of more pork barrel spending. Bloated government hogs feeding at the trough is what has got us here. Nancy Pelosi is right, it is time to drain the swamp and SHE is the plug. It is time WE pull the plug and douche them all down the drain……
This is the great ticking time bomb in several of our debates. From payroll deduction for taxes (which insulates the population from understanding how much they pay) to heath, life, disability, retirement, and workers comp issues, a tangled web of regulations and benefits have fouled the well.
It all needs to stop.
"If the Democrats are proposing an expanded federal government role, Republicans should start from a point of eliminating the federal government role. As long as Democrats are promising free lunch and Republicans are offering free bread and water Republicans and our Country will lose."
So, let's fund the Constitutional Party.
We need alternatives and changes in election funding laws.
I can't even get a tax break for donating to a party if it isn't R or D.
Exactly – we need de-regulation, not more regulation! We can start with state borders that halt choice.
I agree – pretty soon we'll all be regulated to buying health, life, flood and every other kind of insurance there is -all to satisfy the ridiculous notion that it serves to "not place a burden on everyone else" when we get sick, die, or our house is flooded.
Yeah, can you say special interests……….
Follow the money.
This goes back to the Civil War, back to when the Constitution was originally gutted. It goes back simply to STATES RIGHTS. WE, The People ar tired of being dictated to by an elite intellignsia corrupt Political Class. Fundamentally, there is goodness and decency in America; should on get away from either the east coast, or the west coast, there is a wonderful country full of good people in the heartland, in the hinterlands. This time, we are pi$$es, and we won't be silenced………
Washington, Adams, and Jefferson all said this would happen. When you put the septic tank to close to the well head your going to get contamination. The pig trough that is Washington needs to be swept clean! Both parties have ’swinishly’ done more damage to this country then Bin Laden has ever dreamed of doing.
Throw them ALL OUT!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by SavageNews and Blatchford's Jacket. Blatchford's Jacket said: Greatest Threat to American Health Care: Beltway Fever http://ow.ly/15Pv56 [...]
No doubt, some Republicans are just as guilty with an intrusive policy as the Democrats. Because all of them are trying to sell something. Their election (or re-election). It is difficult to push the notion that government should be non-intrusive when people ask what should government do for me, when the question should be "is this politician going to protect me from the government." Now, it seems to be counter-intuitive to suggest that a government official should be limiting the power of government, but 200 plus years ago it was probably common sense.
To expand on your questions: Should the government be picking my medical care coverage? How does restricting all coverage to a comprehensive plan (vs major medical w/ high deductible and low premium) promote competition? How does pricing younger (20-40) people out of the private insurance market by dictating pricing differences, control costs?
It doesn't matter if there is a public option or not, if the government demands a certain type of coverage then the talks of promoting competition, and how it control costs, is bogus. They are not talking about competition in the first place.
Yes. While they kept US focused on Bin Ladin and a host of no-existent bogeymen, they have gutted the Constitution and systemically looted the Treasury. The pure arrogance of those bastards………..
Yes, Beltway Fever is a disease that is killing the American spirit.
The cure for this plague is just what is happening here: The connection of like-minded, liberty loving citizens…citizens who can handle being called a racists at the drop of a hat, of course, as in: "You're Surely a Racist, If…" at http://firebreathingchristian.wordpress.com/2009/...
Washington, Adams & Co. all knew this was coming…now it's up to us to fight…
Keep it up!
LOL, I think the Liberals have a long way to go before they can be considered pigs.
YES!
Man, it is so refreshing to know that there are people out there who get it. Thanks, BigGovernment.com, for creating this site for people like us who see that the government is out of control.
http://theliberalheretic.com/blog/node/905
Good thing you put lipstick on that pig, because neither one of that sow's ears are good enough to make a purse out of.
Yes, gotta love the pig shot!
I agree, pigs are four legged warm blooded Mammals. Slugs woul be more appropriate, they are belly-crawling insects………….
Mr. Loudon,
I would like to respectfully disagree with you. The anger we have stems from being lied to, and having promise after promise broken, poor financial management, and our politicians cheating the system, i.e. house and senate banking committee being the big one. While I agree that there are people that would like to see no government involvement, that is just unrealistic. The problem as I see it is the economy, pure and simple. The anger that I have as well as many others is that nothing is being done to improve it, and we have a party that wants to go spend trillions to fund something that nobody really wants to even fix. There has been no mandate to fix healthcare. We can't even balance a budget and pay off our debt, why the hell would want to do anything like reform healthcare to the tune of 1.28 trillion?
LOL, YES THEY ARE! You don't always see those slimey things until it is too late.
We should all excercies great care when talking about this pig. It does have rights; rights equal or superior to those that you and I have. Obongos new animal rights Czar will bring suit against us…………..
Further, it is un-Constitutional.
This story is growing stronger legs. We just made it to The Financial Times in London……..
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d5860df2-a2d5-11de-ba74...
Who said anything about "no government involvement"?
What I see are people who want the government (specifically the Fed Gov) to operate within the limits set by the Constitution. All the problems we face can be traced back to the Federal Government going beyond the enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8.
The Progressives took it upon themselves to change the meaning of the welfare and commerce clauses to mean virtually anything they want it to. Both sides have abused these clauses and the end result is what we're experiencing today.
The liberal interpretation of the commerce and welfare clauses IS the problem. And the government has created more problems trying to fix the original problems that interpretation caused.
The Federal Government is out of control.
Yes Indeed it is.
Don't forget Madison.
Madison called this crap more than any of the others.
Yes, we may have a serious case of anti-pig racism on our hands here as we have so terribly insulted them via association with libs.
End all tax deductions and incentives: from employer sponsored healthcare to charitable contributions; from buying fuel efficient windows to children. I agree!
no representation without taxation
This country is desperatly seeking a strong third political party to offer all of the things that both Democrats and Republicans are trying to ignore. Less governmental control of our lives, our buisnesses and our education. This counry was built on a foundation of self reliance and self motivation. The “free lunchers” and Statists are going to erode that strong foundation until we are all crawling around in the dirt begging for handouts. Leave us alone and let us ,the great people of the United States, make this county great again.
Your right, it clearly stated at the beginning that the expression was to limit. I mis read the manipulation of the marketplace as no government involvment. Thanks for the point out.
This has nothing to do with healthcare reform. At least not for the people. This is all about reform for government and big corporations to get more money and control of the people forcing them into deeper submission of becoming enslaved to the government. All this hoopla you see in the media with democrats and reuplicans is nothing but a circus act. It's all about making themselves look good to voters by putting on an act to fool the people into believing their party is looking out for them. All the while both parties are in favor of supporting their puppet masters by gaining more control over the people and robbing them of their money. The only one to gain and benefit from this is government, big insurance and lawyers. The people will get screwed over by being forced to buy insurance or be fined for failure to comply, while being given lower quality of care and allowing big insurance to cut 80% of their biggest cost which is paying claims on the elderly. Big insurance and lawyers will get richer and government will get more control over the people. This is just another scam being played on the people just like the federal reserve and personal income tax was.
We need LESS government, period!
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Exactly Ryan, Lead, folow, or get the hell out of the way. It is time for them to leave, en masse……..
Shalom, Mr. John Loudon ~ First, congratulations on this forum of force for freedom! Words matter, they convey ideas which have consequences. Our words must help rather than hurt. I am concerned that too many of us feed at the soup table of the chattering class and comment on what most are commentating. We clamor for attention perhaps by using clever clauses and pig pictures, but at the end of the day we have only been a part of the national chattering class. I am suggesting that "Leaders Lead Locally." I am not advocating a new political party. Nor am I tweaking the political party currently out-of-power. I am leading others, and invite you to add your considerable political weight of experience, to drill down to the precinct committee men/women. Replace every precinct committeeman/woman in the 2010 election cycle with "constitutional conservatives" who can join either political party. Do not, my fellow American Patriots, waste time, talent or treasure with a third party that can not govern but can affect outcomes. We lay out some of the strategic leadership points on our web site http://www.EUKEL.us/Leaders_Lead.html. We invite you and others who will read your column to join. Leaders Lead Locally!
as i see it goverment is not the problem,,the problem is that the goverment has been taken over by political parties,,,there is no place in the constitution that sets up political parties to represent the people, republicans and democrats are external groups , outside of our republic that have organized and taken over the peoples choice…why cant they be eleminated with anti trust laws through the court system just as standard oil , and microsoft have been…the parties are a monoply that has taken over the peoples will..eliminate them as a monoply through the court system
I giess this is also result of too much govt involvement!! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/insuranc...
Oh! yeah, the judiciary is to blame here… govt should not be involved in the judiciary as well. I think we should just let the fire dept also led by free market enterprises. So that when you call for fire, they can conveniently cancel your coverage because of your reckless behavior.
Open up your eyes. Govt is by the people, for the people and of the people. I don't know how you can think govt. is the enemy and the profit making corporations are your best friends. May be you should have listened to Obama's back to school speech and excecise your Brain for a change.
let's not insult any other living species by comparing the Liberals to them. they are their own degenerative species without comparison.
They do it because they can usually get away with it. The customer is not the patient. The customer is the insurance company that brokers the best deal for themselves as buyers and agents. Were it not for the influence they have with policymakers they wouldn't get away with it, given that killing people by bad medical service is not a crime but a vaguely regulated civil affair. The power of Big Medicine is the power of Big Government. Cut the crap out of the system and you get customer=patient and doctor=provider. When someone screws up it should be a crime, not a cash cow for courthouse sluts. You think Fortis is going to jail? lotflmfao
Gotta love the pig shot! I still can't get over that one…nice!
In the wake of this incredible series of reports, I've been thinking a lot about whether Al Gore might now actually regret ever having invented the Internet. Seriously, between this and Drudge Report, it's hard to imagine Al not working right this second on finishing up that time machine so he can go back and "fix" this whole Internet thing.
New Poll: "What does Al Gore regret most about inventing the Internet" along with the story "ANOTHER REASON AL GORE REGRETS INVENTING THE INTERNET" at http://firebreathingchristian.wordpress.com/2009/...
This has been on my mind a lot over the last week…what would Democrats like to do with/to the Internet? Hmmm…
Anyway, thanks as always for making this one amazing week, BigGovernment.com! Excellent article here, Mr. Loudon!
I think what most people miss is the larger picture. Yes, it's about more control of the people and larger government. What is the motive? Why do those elected care? Why is it a crisis? Simply – more money.
The federal government needs more money to fund its social programs that are going bankrupt. The BIG one is Medicare. That alone is $34 trillion in the red by 2017. Got any idea how much that is per person? Can you say open wide? If a public option is passed and the feds can sell health insurance it creates a gigantic cash flow. The cash flow is what will save Medicare and Social Security for a while. The ponzi scheme will eventually fail. But by fooling the people again through these government made crisis they will continue to rob the people of their wealth. Proponents of HR3200 want the Public Option for many reasons. The main one is rising health care costs. The last I heard from Sherrod Brown was rates would double in 8 years. $12,000 to $24,000. I'd say this is about right. Not from increased costs, from forced INFLATION by the Federal Reserve.
Yup. It's about restructuring the revenue stream to make the fat pigs fatter and protect those great election contributions. You're right on target — by fining people who do not sign up, as well as create a new market of previously uninsured folks, the money will ultimately vanish into the black hole of big medicine. It's not just the insurance companies, it's also Big Pharma, Big BioMed and Big Medical Appliance that cashes in, pulling even more revenue into the synergistic gyre of monopoly abetted by corrupt government. Aside from that, though, the advantage of employer-based health care is that it offers some protection in the workplace environment, i.e. if the employer is responsible for paying premiums, it has some incentive not to overwork or mistreat the employees and make them sick, or the costs go up. The option I see is to cut all group policy mechanisms and instead of paying insurance premiums on everything, we pay the doctor directly as individuals for most routine or minor care and use insurance basically as a savings plan for major stuff like maternity and cancer. Then let the competition kick in. The best performers get the business and the screw-ups flip burgers. If you cut out lobbying, consumer advertising and frivolous lawsuits, that would probably leave us a better system. Bottom line, though, is don't get sick.
Man, I am not feeling like things are getting better.
Freedom Seeker, pardon me for a moment as I pull your words out of my mouth. Re-read the post. It was about getting the corrupt Congress out of the business of regulating private insurance and returning that role to the states. We have a dual regulatory scheme with bizare results.
If you are a freedom lover, do you not think you should have the freedom to pick a cheap hospitalization-only policy if you want? Do you want the freedom to not pay for maternity coverage if you are a single male or even a single, clean living female?
I am convinced after seeing medicare part D, that the Congress is incapable of delivering a bill that is not written by special interests. At least when the laws are written in our own states, the authors are much closer to us.
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