Jay posted about a new Libertarian blog today, and it is as he describes: kinder and gentler than your average. But I'm in total agreement with Jay about the Montana Liberty Project blogger's link to a Michael Cannon article and explanation of the way to cure the health care crisis in this country: As Jay so succinctly explains and as I've said on a number of occasions, consumers are not the problem. I felt impassioned enough to leave a long comment for the MLP blogger, but it's in queue limbo, so I'm cross-posting it here:
I've lived under national healthcare (as a foreigner working legally in the Czech Republic) and under the U.S. system, and there's just no comparison. In the Czech Republic, I didn't lie awake at night trying to decide whether to buy the drugs that my child needs for asthma or that my husband needs for [a dangerous but treatable medical condition] or that I need to keep from getting pregnant. I just got them. I paid a little for some and none for others, and none of the prices even approached what we pay for a month's supply here.
If I needed to see a doctor, I knew it would be covered. If I wanted to have some kind of special service from that doctor--i.e. I wanted to be sure that he or she spoke English--I sometimes paid extra to see someone in private practice. Private practices were available widely and generally affordable, even for Czechs. When I went to the hospital to give birth, my care and the care of my son was covered. I paid for a private room.
I found nothing odious or overly bureaucratic about the system. Certainly my tax rate was higher than it is here, but it didn't come anywhere close to reaching what we now pay for high-deductible HSA insurance and out-of-pocket costs. I saw the doctors I wanted and found little hassle in being seen quickly and efficiently, and I was a foreigner. Had I been Czech, I would have been able to take full advantage without worrying about potential language issues.
Here in the U.S., we have some of the finest healthcare the world has to offer--IF you can afford it. That's a big if. I would so much rather have decent, affordable care for everyone than rock-star care for the privileged few.
Making consumers responsible for more of their healthcare costs is not the answer. I am the world's most careful shopper--coupons, sales, you name it--and I can't get anywhere trying to "choose" my healthcare providers for cost. Maybe if I lived in New York or San Francisco I would be in a better position, but when my son has an asthma attack in the middle of the night, my choice is Livingston Memorial Hospital or nothing. Where my husband and I are concerned, it more often ends up being nothing, since we put off seeking any medical care for ourselves.
I understand people's fears about "socialized" medicine. I really do. But after having lived in a country with national healthcare, I can't be scared anymore. People in countries with national systems are more free, as far as I can see, because a goodly portion of their mental energy is not being expended in wondering just how they will pay for their necessary medical treatment.
My riding the cause-horse for national healthcare will surprise none of my regular readers, but if just one person scared of the idea reads this and re-thinks his or her stand, it's worth the retread. Oftentimes I fear that anyone who hasn't had a significant healthcare issue or had to deal with a chronic condition cannot understand just how bad it is out in the trenches for the average person, even the insured ones. And the nightmares I have are nothing compared with the ones suffered by those who lack even crappy insurance.
We don't arrange any other necessary public services in this way. Speaking on an NPR program a couple of weeks ago, a doctor-turned-healthcare reform crusader made the comparison of medical care with public safety protection. In no way would we allow a fee-based, for-profit fire department or police station. Medical care is just as important and no less a right for a civilized nation.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to write to Tester, Baucus, and Rehberg.