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From TheAtlasphere.com
Column
Socialized Medicine? Check Your Premises!
By Bob Burg
Jul 24, 2007
Perhaps the greatest gift I received from reading Ayn Rand was an admonition that has helped me think clearly and logically whenever I felt the heat of emotion carrying me to a faulty conclusion:
Check your premises.
Things dont happen in a vacuum. Typically, not only is there a reason for something, but that something happened further back than the emotional decision point.
So, first, check your premises. Go back to the beginning and make sure you are basing your solutions on the correct basic idea or assumption.
Case in point: Universal healthcare is now the big topic of the day. The mainstream Democratic politicians are totally for it, and even Republican politicians are getting there.
Heck, former Republican Governor Romney instituted a forced er, Im sorry; a much nicer word is mandatory state-run healthcare system in Massachusetts as did Republican Governor Schwarzenegger in California.
In addition, Michael Moores newest movie, Sicko, is already playing in much of the country. Most likely hell introduce us to Americans who have no health insurance and are being left to suffer, or worse, to die.
And, you know what? When I see those people on screen I will feel terrible. My heart will break for them. Indeed, like many others, Ill ask myself why in this most abundant of nations should we have anyone without healthcare?
But before I go running to our federal government to set things right for us ... Ill check my premises. Before asking government to solve our ills something theyve proven not proficient at in most areas Ill first ask, why are we in this position in the first place?
Well, I know what most politicians, what Michael Moore, and, unfortunately, what most Americans would answer: the free enterprise system has let us down.
The reason I know this is because I hear it constantly. I only wish that before people especially influential ones utter these conclusions, they would first take Ms. Rands advice and check their premises.
So, is it the free enterprise system that destroyed our health care system?
Lets take a quick look back about 50 or so years ago. At that time, our U.S. healthcare system was basically market-driven. What were the results?
Well, lets see:
* Practically all Americans who wanted health insurance had it. It was affordable.
* Doctors offices werent reminiscent of Grand Central Station. In fact, doctors actually were known to make house calls.
* People who were less fortunate financially could always find a doctor or hospital that allowed them to pay on a sliding scale.
* And, hospitals? Well, if you recall, practically every major city had at least one charity hospital.
Was anyone ever left out in the cold? Unfortunately, yes.
Utopia even in our great country has never been an option. However, our healthcare system came pretty darn close. Certainly closer than at any other place and time in history, before or since.
And, then, a funny thing happened on the way to our healthcare system breakdown....
Government got involved. Really involved. I mean, really, really involved. As usual, they decided they knew more about how the market operates than ... the market.
Between excessive regulation of private health insurance, coverage mandates, lack of price competition for medical services, Medicare, Medicaid, government-forced reliance on third-party payers, more rules, more regulations, more taxes, etc., we have been driven into a system in which far too many American families go without any kind of health coverage because they simply cannot afford it.
Was this governments purpose? Surely not. Its just what they do.
They take either non-existent, slight problems, or even legitimate problems, and they turn them into national disasters.
Now government is being asked to come to the rescue, and they will gladly oblige. Just listen to Hillary, Barack, Edwards, Romney and others. For them, a complete or virtual government takeover or supervision is the solution to your healthcare woes.
Putting this into healthcare vernacular, could we not say that government has broken our legs and is now being asked to fix them? Hmmm, theyll probably then say, See, if it wasnt for us, you wouldnt be able to walk.
The point: Free enterprise did not give us our current Sicko healthcare system; government intervention did.
Lets look at these politicians solution, universal healthcare. Basically, this means that Americans would be taxed even more than they currently are. However, at least everyone would have coverage and access to free health care.
(Of course, nothing is free. Youll actually be paying more for your own healthcare as well as for those who couldnt otherwise afford it. Why? Because it will be run in the typical governmental fashion of high waste, where approximately 70-75 percent out of every dollar will go to administer the system rather than to health care itself. This percentage of waste is the norm for all government programs.)
Except that this is not completely true. In fact, its far from true.
Note the word access. Actually, what people will have is access to a waiting list.
They will have access to having a bureaucrat who doesnt know or love them deciding if the illness they or their children are suffering rates a visit to the doctor. If it rates an operation. If it rates treatment of any kind.
There is nothing speculative or conspiracy theory-ish about this. We know its true because we see it regularly within those countries that have universal health care.
There is a huge difference between access to a list and access to actual medical treatment.
In a recent column in the Los Angeles Times, Michael Tanner and Michael Cannon wrote:
Of course, once our system is as socialistic as is theirs, that will no longer be an option.
Speaking of our friendly neighbors to the north, Canada is currently looking at massive changes in their system.
First, the citizens are in an uproar due to long waiting lists. Second, the costs of the system are completely out of control.
Is this really what we want? Are we so anxious to blame a not-guilty party the free enterprise system that we will throw away still another freedom, the freedom to care for ourselves and our loved ones the way we see fit, not the way some faceless bureaucrat sees fit?
Do we want our children getting the same expert and loving medical care as did our wounded vets at Walter Reed and in similar government-run hospitals?
Would we really rather see everyone suffer through this kind of healthcare mandated for all? Except the politicians, of course.
Senator Hillary will never have to wait in line. Governor Romney will never be told, Sorry, no CAT scan for you until every poor person can get one.
The solution is actually quite simple. Get the government out of our healthcare system and let the free market, private charity, and loving-kindness do what it once did: Provide us with a healthcare system that really works.
Please, dont buy into this new government takeover. And dont buy into Michael Moores propaganda, as well-intentioned as he probably is. Dont let emotions make this decision for you.
Instead, check your premises.
Bob Burg speaks on the topics of positive persuasion and business networking. His books, Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales and Winning Without Intimidation: How to Master the Art of Positive Persuasion have each sold well over 150,000 copies. For more information, visit his web site.
Column
Socialized Medicine? Check Your Premises!
By Bob Burg
Jul 24, 2007
Perhaps the greatest gift I received from reading Ayn Rand was an admonition that has helped me think clearly and logically whenever I felt the heat of emotion carrying me to a faulty conclusion:
Check your premises.
Things dont happen in a vacuum. Typically, not only is there a reason for something, but that something happened further back than the emotional decision point.
So, first, check your premises. Go back to the beginning and make sure you are basing your solutions on the correct basic idea or assumption.
Case in point: Universal healthcare is now the big topic of the day. The mainstream Democratic politicians are totally for it, and even Republican politicians are getting there.
Heck, former Republican Governor Romney instituted a forced er, Im sorry; a much nicer word is mandatory state-run healthcare system in Massachusetts as did Republican Governor Schwarzenegger in California.
In addition, Michael Moores newest movie, Sicko, is already playing in much of the country. Most likely hell introduce us to Americans who have no health insurance and are being left to suffer, or worse, to die.
And, you know what? When I see those people on screen I will feel terrible. My heart will break for them. Indeed, like many others, Ill ask myself why in this most abundant of nations should we have anyone without healthcare?
But before I go running to our federal government to set things right for us ... Ill check my premises. Before asking government to solve our ills something theyve proven not proficient at in most areas Ill first ask, why are we in this position in the first place?
Well, I know what most politicians, what Michael Moore, and, unfortunately, what most Americans would answer: the free enterprise system has let us down.
The reason I know this is because I hear it constantly. I only wish that before people especially influential ones utter these conclusions, they would first take Ms. Rands advice and check their premises.
So, is it the free enterprise system that destroyed our health care system?
Lets take a quick look back about 50 or so years ago. At that time, our U.S. healthcare system was basically market-driven. What were the results?
Well, lets see:
* Practically all Americans who wanted health insurance had it. It was affordable.
* Doctors offices werent reminiscent of Grand Central Station. In fact, doctors actually were known to make house calls.
* People who were less fortunate financially could always find a doctor or hospital that allowed them to pay on a sliding scale.
* And, hospitals? Well, if you recall, practically every major city had at least one charity hospital.
Was anyone ever left out in the cold? Unfortunately, yes.
Utopia even in our great country has never been an option. However, our healthcare system came pretty darn close. Certainly closer than at any other place and time in history, before or since.
And, then, a funny thing happened on the way to our healthcare system breakdown....
Government got involved. Really involved. I mean, really, really involved. As usual, they decided they knew more about how the market operates than ... the market.
Between excessive regulation of private health insurance, coverage mandates, lack of price competition for medical services, Medicare, Medicaid, government-forced reliance on third-party payers, more rules, more regulations, more taxes, etc., we have been driven into a system in which far too many American families go without any kind of health coverage because they simply cannot afford it.
Was this governments purpose? Surely not. Its just what they do.
They take either non-existent, slight problems, or even legitimate problems, and they turn them into national disasters.
Now government is being asked to come to the rescue, and they will gladly oblige. Just listen to Hillary, Barack, Edwards, Romney and others. For them, a complete or virtual government takeover or supervision is the solution to your healthcare woes.
Putting this into healthcare vernacular, could we not say that government has broken our legs and is now being asked to fix them? Hmmm, theyll probably then say, See, if it wasnt for us, you wouldnt be able to walk.
The point: Free enterprise did not give us our current Sicko healthcare system; government intervention did.
Lets look at these politicians solution, universal healthcare. Basically, this means that Americans would be taxed even more than they currently are. However, at least everyone would have coverage and access to free health care.
(Of course, nothing is free. Youll actually be paying more for your own healthcare as well as for those who couldnt otherwise afford it. Why? Because it will be run in the typical governmental fashion of high waste, where approximately 70-75 percent out of every dollar will go to administer the system rather than to health care itself. This percentage of waste is the norm for all government programs.)
Except that this is not completely true. In fact, its far from true.
Note the word access. Actually, what people will have is access to a waiting list.
They will have access to having a bureaucrat who doesnt know or love them deciding if the illness they or their children are suffering rates a visit to the doctor. If it rates an operation. If it rates treatment of any kind.
There is nothing speculative or conspiracy theory-ish about this. We know its true because we see it regularly within those countries that have universal health care.
There is a huge difference between access to a list and access to actual medical treatment.
In a recent column in the Los Angeles Times, Michael Tanner and Michael Cannon wrote:
Simply saying that people have health insurance is meaningless. Many countries provide universal insurance but deny critical procedures to patients who need them. Britains Department of Health reported in 2006 that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year. In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year.
Many of these individuals suffer chronic pain, and judging by the numbers, some will probably die awaiting treatment. In a 2005 ruling of the Canadian Supreme Court, Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin wrote that access to a waiting list is not access to healthcare.
Interestingly enough, in Canada, where by law they cannot pay for private medical treatment, the only option for those who must either have an operation or die is often to travel to America.Many of these individuals suffer chronic pain, and judging by the numbers, some will probably die awaiting treatment. In a 2005 ruling of the Canadian Supreme Court, Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin wrote that access to a waiting list is not access to healthcare.
Of course, once our system is as socialistic as is theirs, that will no longer be an option.
Speaking of our friendly neighbors to the north, Canada is currently looking at massive changes in their system.
First, the citizens are in an uproar due to long waiting lists. Second, the costs of the system are completely out of control.
Is this really what we want? Are we so anxious to blame a not-guilty party the free enterprise system that we will throw away still another freedom, the freedom to care for ourselves and our loved ones the way we see fit, not the way some faceless bureaucrat sees fit?
Do we want our children getting the same expert and loving medical care as did our wounded vets at Walter Reed and in similar government-run hospitals?
Would we really rather see everyone suffer through this kind of healthcare mandated for all? Except the politicians, of course.
Senator Hillary will never have to wait in line. Governor Romney will never be told, Sorry, no CAT scan for you until every poor person can get one.
The solution is actually quite simple. Get the government out of our healthcare system and let the free market, private charity, and loving-kindness do what it once did: Provide us with a healthcare system that really works.
Please, dont buy into this new government takeover. And dont buy into Michael Moores propaganda, as well-intentioned as he probably is. Dont let emotions make this decision for you.
Instead, check your premises.
