Paying for Health Care Reform

After all these months no one has found a good way to pay for a large health care reform bill. We can not borrow more for we are drowning in debt. The government’s uncontrolled spending has already trashed the dollar and has increased the strain on the already sagging economy. Few want to loan this country money anyway for we are a bad risk. If we print more money, the dollar will be further devalued. The only remaining way to fund an enormous spending bill is to raise taxes.

Raising taxes during a recession will only deepen and prolong the recession. Yet the latest health care proposal is filled with taxes and fines on individuals and corporations. Corporations will pass their taxes along to consumers in higher prices. Individuals can not pass along their taxes. We can not afford any more taxes. We are hanging on by our finger tips now.

Congress plans on increasing the number of people eligible for Medicaid. States are responsible for almost fifty percent of Medicaid’s cost. The federal government then only has half the cost of new benefits included in its projected costs. Isn’t this a neat bookkeeping trick? Of course, the people are still entirely responsible for all the costs, but it sounds better. These are UNFUNDED state mandates unless you live in Nevada, Oregon, Michigan, or Rhode Island. The federal government will pay their share of the new Medicaid costs. Apparently they are special.

Congress needs to scale back their plans for health care reform. Reform the obvious. Allow us to buy insurance across state lines to increase competition. Follow the Texas example and enact real tort reform. It has lowered costs there and will lower costs elsewhere. Make it illegal to deny health care insurance because of a pre-existing condition. These three items will not affect our budget. Then provide scholarships for primary care doctors and provide premium subsidies for those who truly can not pay for insurance. These last two items will have a cost - but will not cost the trillion dollars that other plans will. Do not punish citizens with higher taxes or push this country over the financial precipice by significantly increasing the national debt.