Here are clips from the debate between Peter Schiff, Mrs. WWE, and some other guy. Notice how fluent Schiff is. He doesn’t have to pause and take his time speaking, because he is not lying. Now go watch Obama speak.
YouTube – Peter Schiff won the Republican U.S. Senate candidate debate in CT on 3-2-10.
Let’s hope Peter wins, and that this is just the first step in an 1800 style revolution.
I can’t remember how I found this video, but if you have the time, it’s a much watch. You want to know why we are heading for disaster? It’s because the government is filled with David Epsteins, when we need more Peter Schiffs. Hopefully, Schiff will defeat Dodd next year, and we’ll at least have one. Add Rand Paul into the equation, and we are heading into the right direction.
In the first installment on free market health care reform solutions, I spoke of the problem with using third party payer in respects to health insurance and health care purchases. The effects of changing that one aspect of the health care industry would vastly improve our current system and would result in more jobs, better care, and a booming economy. To take the free market concepts even further, we must now look at how the uniqueness of the health care insurance model makes it much more expensive than other insurances, how obesity is driving up health care costs for the obese and the fit, and how the market has already taken some steps to address rising costs.
Health care insurance is a very unique insurance purchase when compared to auto, health, or any other insurance product. When you purchase home owner’s insurance, you buy it in case of fire, flood or burglary. You do not buy it because you know you are going to need your roof replace, a new furnace installed, or your carpets cleaned. If home owner’s insurance was treated like health care insurance, you would have to pay astronomical prices for the insurance because the providers of the insurance would have to cover maintenance, and in some plans would cover elective improvements like a deck or a finished basement.
To make it even more absurd, when getting your insurance through your employer, not only is your rate based on the amount of maintenance you use or the risk of your decisions, but they are also based on other individuals that you have no control over. Imagine if you invest in a security system, fire detectors and fire retardant building materials in order to lower the risk of your house catching on fire. This would be similar to exercising, eating right and having regular checkups. Currently, your home owners insurance would be reduced because of the responsible actions you took. Now, if home owner’s was ran like health care, your rate wouldn’t be based on your actions. It would be based on your group’s actions. If a member of your group moves to a high crime area, has no smoke detectors and has very old wiring, your rates would need to take into account his chances of a fire. As you can see, you are punished for actions you have no control over. This model punishes the responsible and rewards the irresponsible. The effect is higher prices for all and no encouragement for good behavior.
As stated in part one of this blog, this third party payer model leaves you with a vicious cycle of increases in the price of insurance and cost of health care. With the removal of third party payer, we would be rated based on our own individual risk and behavior. By removing the group, you now have an incentive to be responsible. Just like you may install a security system in your house to get a decrease in your home owner’s premium, you would be encouraged to get your BMI down to get a break on your health insurance. You cannot expect good health behavior patterns when people are shielded from the effects of their own actions by the group. You will also have the incentive not to frivolously waste health care services. You would not submit a home owner’s claim every time you need a shingle replaced on your roof, because your premium would rise to cover the risk of another shingle needing replaced. Your risk rating would be worsened by your continual submission of claims. Similarly, you would not run to the doctor every time you get a headache, and if you did you would be more inclined to pay out of pocket to prevent your risk profile being negatively effected. Paying out of pocket is a good thing. It cause you to shop and demand better prices, which results in more competition.
As you can see, the health insurance model is unsustainable as is. It must be allowed to move into the model of every other insurance plan we know of. People must be weighed on their risk. They must be rewarded with lower premiums for taking responsible action, and they must be punished with higher premiums for being irresponsible with their health.
Not being accountable for your actions in respect to your health has helped lead to a large number of our population being extremely unhealthy. Currently, over 35% of our population is consider obese, and the number jumps to 65% when counting overweight individuals. What’s worse is the percentage has been climbing year after year. In 1990, no state had a over 15% of it’s population classified as obese. By 2008, no state had under 15%. Colorado is the only state with under 20%. The majority of the states now have over 25%. Does it surprise anyone with data like this, that we have a health care crisis? Obesity leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, sleeping disorders, and countless other health conditions. Ten percent of our yearly health care expenditure as a country is for obesity caused diseases. This is a huge burden on the insurance industry causing higher costs for us all.
Previously, we explained how rising costs come about. If demand is increased without increasing supply, then price go up. With the data presented in the previous paragraph, it is obvious the demand for health care caused by obesity would undoubtly drive up the cost of health care. Demand for drugs is driven up astronomically, because the treatment of these obesity related diseases last the remaining years in the life of inflicted. Our society has a very destructive pattern of treating diseases instead of removing the cause of the disease.
Now, I am not saying the government should step in and force people to get healthy. That is not needed. I am a freedom loving capitalist. If you want to fill up on Twinkies and Jujubes all day while reclining to the Jerry Springer show, have at it big boy. What I am saying is you pay for your actions. Do not expect those who make the tough diet and exercise decisions to subsidize your bad habits. If the free market reigned, third party payer would be gone, insurance companies would base your premiums on your risk and all the high fructose corn syrup lovers would pay for the medical resources they consume. You would quickly see the obesity rate decline, because the obese would be punished by higher premiums. With this decline, you would have insurance rates and demand on health care resources decline. Hey, didn’t we say earlier you have to decrease demand to lower cost. Well, voila, you just did it. Now you have a much healthier society both physically and mentally. The economic effects are too vast to even get into. Let’s just say everything has opportunity costs, and when we put more and more money into health care, that money it held back from other economic activities. With that money freed up, it can go into other parts of the economy that would more than likely improve our lives.
As you can see, both the first part and the second part of this blog really come down to one change. That change is removing third party payer. That one aspect of health care has caused this entire disaster we are now debating. The government cannot fix this by throwing more money at the symptoms. The free market is the only thing that can fix our health care system. It is the only thing that can fix any of our societal ills. Even though the government and the third party payer issues exist, the free market has already taken action to address issues with rising health care costs.
Let’s take a look at the regular doctors visit. Because of the demand for doctors, typically you have to schedule a doctors visit a few days out. When you do go to the doctors, you sit and wait in the waiting room. Then you sit and wait in the treatment rooms. Finally, when the doctor comes in, you see him for 15 minutes, and you’re done. This isn’t all just to have fun with you. This is because of the demand for the doctor’s services. The free market saw this an opportunity and developed the concept of walk-in clinics at your local pharmacy. These clinics are staffed by nurses that can take care of common illnesses. These nurses are schooled enough to address these issues and do so without the same cost of having a highly skilled doctor. Unlike government, the free market allocates resources based on the most efficient use those resources. When the power of the free market is released, it will create a plethora of solutions like this. Consumers will have many more choices and will be the beneficiaries of that horrible “profiteering”. Just remember profits are derived by someone developing and providing a solution to a need. Without that profit motive, that need would go unserviced.
While listening to the debate on health care, the problem seems so vast and complex. We really just touched the surface of the revolution you would see if the free market prevailed. I did not even get into the disastrous effects the intrusion of the federal government has already wreaked on the health care industry. Hopefully, I’ve provided some food for thought and helped you realize just because a problem seems huge doesn’t mean that the solution has to be. The solution presented here is very simple, but the benefits are more than I can even touch on. As in any debate, seek the truth and use your logic and reason to come to a solution. Problems are exacerbated by those who think things are so complex that it requires “government experts” to fix it.
P.S. I’m sure as the debate progresses, I’ll have more topics to write about. Please provide feedback. Ideas are weak when not challenged. If you disagree, challenge my ideas, so I can either strengthen them or discard them. If you agree with them, share them with others.
Health Care reform has been a politically powerful, hot button issue in election cycle after election cycle. It appears to be coming to a head this year, with Democrats pushing a government run health care plan. Republicans on the other hand seem to be very splintered on what health care reform should look like. It seems many elders in the party believe Republicans should just capitulate to the Democrats because they don’t want to look like they don’t stand for something. They don’t want to look like they are a road block. This is why we have been progressively losing our freedoms and the state has been taking more and more control of our daily lives. Our supposed free market leaders just don’t seem to have the will or the insight to fight for the side of liberty and the free market.
The government constantly goes unchecked on their claims of why a system is experiencing issues. I consent to the fact that our health care industry needs some over haul. Surely, anyone who has had to take care of the health care of themselves and a family can empathize with those who say the system is broken. The question that must be asked is why is it broken? Once you establish why it is broken, you can then truly look at reforms that fix the system, reforms that actually get at the root cause of the ailing system. Why in our country and especially in our government do we always look at symptoms and claim they are the problem? This is a huge issue that will not be fixed by addressing some symptoms. One only need to look at the health of an individual to come up with the perfect analogy of how we are treating the health care “crisis”.
Say a man develops acid reflux. They start off treating it themselves with an antacid. This addresses the symptom. After continually taking over the counter medicine and bumping up their doses, they decide to see their doctor. They go to the doctor and explain their symptoms. The doctor then explains that the stomach is tilted which results in acid coming out of the stomach into the esophagus. “Wow”, thinks the patient, “I can’t believe I have this condition. Can you prescribe something for me to fix it doc?” “Sure”, the doctor says, and the doctor prescribes an even more potent antacid that the patient will have to take going forward. Now, has the problem been solved? No, the problem has been masked. In the mean time, new issues are beginning, because the acid in the stomach, which is normal, is being suppressed. So now, food might not digest properly, and the patient now has digestive issues. This is how we treat issues in our public policy.
What the doctor should have said is, “Look this ‘disease’ started because you put on 50 pounds, and the beer belly you now have is causing your stomach to tilt. If you want to fix the problem, your gut is root cause of your problem. Here’s a prescription to a healthier diet and exercise.” Instead, doctors many times treat patients like the government treats our societal problems. Diet and exercise are not as easy as popping a pill the rest of my life, so let’s just ignore the cause of the problem. The same goes for health care. Fixing the problem, because it involves real change, is much harder and scarier for people, so let’s ignore the problem and take the societal pill of government control. As with the patient, this will introduce new and probably worse problems in the future.
“So”, you say, “what are the root causes then big shot?”. Well, one must look at economics to understand how markets work. Everyone constantly talks about the rising cost of health care. What causes prices to rise? Prices are just a signal of where supply and demand are at in any given time period. So, if demand increases and supply doesn’t, prices go up. Contrary if supply increases and demand doesn’t, prices drop. What causes this not to function properly? I should rephrase that, because it does function properly, but it doesn’t function optimally when price is hidden to the end consumer and not taken into account when making spending decisions. So, the first big problem with our health care system is third party payer. If consumers don’t look at price, the demand side of the equation is going to unnecessarily grow. If price is taken into account, consumers may decide they don’t need this service or product at this price. They may also shop for substitutes. Both instances will work to drive demand down and thus lower the cost.
The second root cause of the rising cost of health care is the one who claims they are going to fix it, the government. We already explained why hiding price distorts the market and drives up cost. So what happens when you introduce a market behemoth into the equation. Now, you not only have price signals being ignored, but you have the vast supply of government money thrown in to exacerbate the market distortion to the Nth degree. Government money always drives up costs. Look at all the money that goes into education and the cost of education. The most ludicrous claim of this whole health care debate is the claim that some how the government can drive cost down. Government control of health care can only lower cost by lowering demand. How would government lower demand? The only way government can lower demand is by refusing products and services to people via rationing.
The last root cause that I’m going to mention is what I explained earlier in my analogy between the person with acid reflux and the way government handles societal problems. Even though in general we live longer now than ever before, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with out a societal cost. Part of the problem we have is people live longer now with illnesses and sicknesses. How does this group effect the supply and demand curve. Of course, the more people you have dependent on pills to stay alive or to treat a condition, the more demand is driven up. I can understand that there are people with no control over these circumstances, but in many more cases there are actions that people can take to fix their health issues themselves. In America, over 60% of the population is overweight, and roughly 25% of the population is consider obese. With excessive weight comes most of the illnesses that our population is dealing with and the popping pills at an every increasing rate. If we want to see a drastic change in the cost of health care and to see the demand side of the supply and demand curve driven down, we have to take action lower the percentage of populace that is overweight.
As you can see, these are real root causes. These don’t have easy to swallow answers that politicians like to use to address symptoms. It’s so much easier to say, “Oh no, you aren’t the problem. You don’t need to make changes. The government needs to take more action and help you.” Really? Do you think the government is going to fix the supply and demand curve to lower price? If anything, government control always lowers supply and increases demand, which, REPEAT IT WITH ME, raises prices. Do you think you are going to have the same freedoms after the government takes over? Not only will you pay for these programs in taxes, but you will pay a much heftier price in lost liberty.
I know, I know. “Well genius, it’s easy to stand on the sidelines and point out problems. How do you think we should fix this ‘crisis’?” As I said before fixes to all root causes are much more difficult to swallow than bandaids on the symptoms. The good thing is these fixes actually fix the problem, where bandaids just hide the problems. In my next blog, I will do my best to put out some ideas on how we can address the rising cost of health care. They will be fixes along the line of solutions to the root causes I laid out here. Until then, when watching the health care debate unfold, ask yourself when you here a so called solution espoused by a policitian, “How does this drive down demand or increase supply to lower price”. If it sounds like it will decrease supply or increase demand, you know the problem is only going to get worse with the prescribed fix.
