The Sage Observer

Healthcare for Americans

More and more, as every day comes and goes, I grow increasingly angry. Old, ugly, poor, disabled, and unemployed, I have little to do but study my Bible and listen to the news. News—what news? Day in and day out, all I hear are commercials (mostly commercials), political propaganda, gossip, argument, and bickering, lies, and misinformation—very little real news—mostly that which builds up ratings. To properly serve the people, our nation needs a new, honest, and efficient news media to replace what we now have, now controlled by a half dozen or so financial magnets throughout the world. Just to point out two minor, if not petty, examples, they even address members of the House of Representatives as Congressman. Their proper title is “Representative” They don’t address Senators as Congressman (which they absolutely are every bit as much—just read Section I of Article I of the U.S. Constitution). Also, take note of how often you hear the expression “you know” on the air. Why do you need to hear this kind of “crap” when the only reason you are watching informational television in the first place is because “you don’t know”—you want to be informed. However, that’s not why I am writing this. I digress. I want to talk about Healthcare.

Before I go there, however, I want to admit that this piece is long, about 2,000 words. But I promise you it will take much less time to read than the hours I took to study and write it. I haven’t written it to assuage my ego. I have written it because I care and am intensely concerned about what happens to my country. I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat (my present registration notwithstanding). I am an American, and I care deeply about the American people, our democracy, and the sovereignty of our great nation as well as our leadership throughout the world. If we are to survive as the leader of the free world, we are going to have to get our economy under control, i.e. jobs and prosperity for our people (including the reduction of income and wealth inequality), our people educated (currently a national weakness), National Healthcare with Universal Access for all, Social Security update of financing, Tax Reform, Reduction of our national deficit and payment of our national debt, Reunification of our people, and much more not the least of which is Immigration Reform. I ask you to take the time to read this. I don’t know it all by any means—I’m certainly no genius; but I know what I am talking about. Read this. Please, and if you so choose, share it.

I said above that I am angry—very angry—with all the lying, bickering, and argumentation I see and hear on television every day. The confusion and dissent is mind boggling; and, to make matters worse, almost all of the arguments deal with symptoms rather than the real problem, wasting literally millions if not billions of dollars of taxpayer money and time in the process. One of many subjects argued is national healthcare.

Let me tell you this, and you—all of you—will agree: Each and every American in this country needs and/or, at some point in their life, will need access to healthcare. Also, a majority of you believe universal access to healthcare is a right. The need for universal access to healthcare by the people is neither the problem nor the argument. Really—the question, the real problem, THE REAL ISSUE, IS HOW TO PAY FOR IT. Not new to the American people, we always want the service, but we want someone else to pay for it. Think about it. Be honest with yourself. We fought the Revolutionary War and it took years for George Washington to get the money to pay for it, finally ending up getting a Jew, Haym Solomon, to secure financing. Check it out for yourself. Search for Haym Solomon in Wikipedia.

So, how can our nation secure universal access to HEALTHCARE FOR ALL?

This is a very complicated subject, so what I am going to tell you may not be in the right order, but I’ll try. Also, we need to understand a few underlying facts:

Being able to have access to healthcare doesn’t guarantee one the ability to attain it. It must be paid for.

Some claim the Affordable Care Act, i.e. Obama Care, is about to go broke. It is about to implode, becoming unaffordable. I believe they are right. It must be replaced.

Some believe Medicare is on the verge of “going broke”. That might happen; but only because our Congress (The House and Senate) fail to provide the necessary funds. They put this law into effect; and, as also true in the case of Social Security, immigration, education, etc., they refuse to do their job and provide the necessary financing—an absolute fact, a shortcoming throughout our government.

This is a dangerous game they are playing with our people and certainly not in their interests. It’s all about politics and more and more for the rich and wealthy. As it has been for some time, payroll deductions for Medicare are insufficient to cover costs, leading to increases in the national deficit and, consequently, the national debt. Healthcare is one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, programs in our national budget today (next comes Defense [I believe that is true]).

This having been said, I have carried health insurance all my adult life even though, except for the birth of our children, I have had almost no need—until I become sixty and begun having serious problems with my heart. I have now been the beneficiary of the Medicare Program, for twenty years; and I can tell you it is the best coverage I have ever had. I was on the verge of death several times, and Medicare came through—smooth as silk—every time with no problems.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that we don’t have to argue, spit and stutter, wasting thousands of hours and billions of dollars politicking to do that which should be our utmost priority, the prosperity and well-being of our people—all our people (not just the rich and elite). We have in place right now a system which will provide for the healthcare of all our people—Medicare. We can start tomorrow (or April 1—the first of the month) with only a few additional adjustments to accommodate the increased volume and financing.

HOW WILL WE FINANCE IT? Everybody has to know there is never something for nothing. Nothing is free. There are a number of ways, but I think there must be some fixed rules:

Keeping in mind that our Social Security program is the most efficient and cost effective government program in effect in our nation today with the lowest administrative costs and self funding, contributing neither to the national deficit nor the national debt, we should establish our National Healthcare Program with Universal Access for All on the same basis. We can discuss the method of taxation; but, whatever, it must fulfill certain requirements:

At the end of each fiscal year, all expenditures from the fund should be paid in full—there must be no deficit, no debt.

All ages, cradle to the grave, must be covered.

The tax should be a single (one) tax in order to provide transparency and auditability. I suggest a retail national sales tax or a progressive income tax based upon one’s ability to pay.

There must be rigid enforcement of the law with stringent penalties for any and all fraud and deceit, including drug and tax evasion violations.

Employers now providing employee healthcare benefits should be relieved of the responsibility for all employee healthcare benefits and transfer those benefit payments to employee wages.

All present employee payroll deductions for Medicare benefits should be discontinued to be replaced by taxes determined as per above.

All Social Security and National Healthcare funds must be removed from any and all national budget considerations in the future. I suggest general provision for these funds be incorporated in our Constitution if at all possible, hopefully eliminating any future discussion of the rights of the people concerning them.

The subject of Socialized medicine comes to the front. Those who insist that national healthcare of this type is Socialized medicine are just plain wrong. They are in error. This is no more such than many other things we do and have been doing throughout our history in this Democratic Republic of ours.

Probably the best place to begin is a brief discussion of the free market—what it is and what it isn’t; and, what an economist (any economist) tells you notwithstanding, generally speaking the only place you will find a free market, in this country anyway, is on a blackboard (OK—a whiteboard) in a college classroom. In these days of international corporations, monopolies, interlocking directorates, government control, it is a rare day when any market is free and unencumbered (not controlled) in one manner or another—Socialism or Capitalism.

In keeping with the subject of Universal National Healthcare, we constantly hear those on the Right advocate the need for a free market in healthcare wherein the public have the choice to choose their doctors, hospitals, health insurance, etc. That really puzzles me. I just heard yesterday some of these same people talk against the posting of prices by, or for, doctors, hospitals, medicines, etc. This would constitute a free market? Hardly, how is this informed choice in a free market? If you will, think about this. You are sick—very sick. Maybe you are even on your back in an emergency room—probably in a hospital. How are you going to choose a hospital? Where or who is your doctor? Can you buy your drugs at your pharmacy and bring them to the hospital? If you think you can, you better check. Also, I think you might be surprised by the difference in prices. Think about it. Do you really think that free market Capitalism is the real answer to your healthcare? I’ll tell you folks, it’s nothing but a myth. Its reality is laughable.

Let us take a minute and talk about insurance. Have you ever read an insurance policy? I have. I studied insurance in college (closer to one hundred years ago than to the present); but I must be honest with you. I would rather do almost anything than read an insurance policy—especially when there are multiple policies as in those cases when one is selecting between different policies. So, again I ask you. Is this the free market you want; or when you are sick or have an accident, would you not just rather call your family doctor and/or go to your local hospital where you know you will get good service?

Of course, for a variety of reasons not the least of which is abuse, there must be such things as reasonable copays and deductibles, but I submit to you that Single Payer Healthcare with Universal Access for all is the way to go for our future and we should adopt this national healthcare just as soon as possible.

In closing this out, I ask you to think and consider one more thing, Socialism. That word is a pejorative, a word that strikes bitterness in the heart of those who hear it. A pejorative is a word that upon its utterance makes people mad as hell. I ask you to not let this get to you. The national healthcare suggested here is not Socialism. It is no more Socialism than the Medicare program. Just like under Medicare, the people serving you are private businesses and you choose your doctor in conjunction with whom you choose your other providers, hospitals, imaging services, and so on. This is not Socialism.

Let me know what you think.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.