by Rita Kimbro

Created on: May 29, 2009

The government should not pay for all medical care

Universal healthcare although it is an ideal concept would not be in the best interest of the country. The most recent economic crisis has caused many job losses which means the number of uninsured Americans has increased. The knee jerk reaction is to assume we would be better served by a government run plan; however the bureaucracy of that would lead to even bigger deficits and still not improve the quality of care being provided. There is definitely a need for major changes in our healthcare system but the solution is far more complicated than simply having the government pay for it.

Americans rely on choice and competition to insure both quality of care and reasonable cost in the current system. If the government were to pay for all medical care both choice and competition would be eliminated. Unfortunately instead of insuring all received the highest level of care; which would be the intent. Government involvement would mean little incentive for competition because pricing would be regulated. Quality of care would also suffer because the system would be controlled by government practices and procedures and limit individual choice. Therefore, a standardized approach to care would be used not allowing for some of the more expensive, experimental, or alternative options of care.

Government is not the answer to everything; however our elected representatives have a responsibility to look out for the people. Rather than the government simply paying for all medical care, the playing field needs to be leveled. Currently most Americans purchase their health insurance through their employer. The current crisis has exposed that to be an unreliable source. The system needs to be reorganized to group the participants in a health plan in another way; possibly by profession or region. It should be required for everyone; much like automobile insurance in most states. The inclusion of all levels of health will allow for premiums reasonable for all. The loopholes that currently leave chronically ill people vulnerable: such as preexisting condition clauses, need to be closed. There are currently laws that partially do this but they do not go far enough.

No, government should not pay for all medical care. However, government does need to repair our current system; which is most definitely broken. The role of the government is not to throw money at the problem; it is to insure through regulatory guidance that the system is beneficial to all.

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