Health Care & Reform - Intro to a Miniseries

All right, how do I do write about health care and make any sense? It has proved difficult if not impossible to do. I will start out by stating that just about every person I know thinks the American health care system needs some type of reform. I would agree. What I don't agree with is the extent of reform currently being proposed. Let's begin with a recent Michael Ramirez cartoon/graphic from Investor's Business Daily:


This cartoon is obviously incomplete, as it does not show the crucial seventh category, those that don't have prospects for long term health care, want it, but can't afford it. Nevertheless, the point of the cartoon is a good one, principally, that the hysteria of the left is overblown and the numbers they use are intellectually dishonest. Furthermore, very few if any of the proposals on the table differentiate between the different groups of uninsured or offer substantive ways to target a reduction in their numbers.

On the other hand, those on the right would be wrong to underplay the current and future problems of Medicare, Medicaid, and socialized health care as it already exists (by which I mean unpaid care to some that is reflected in the higher rates charged to everyone else).

I started a list of the factors driving up costs and reducing access to health care, and quickly realized I could not cover everything in a single post if I wanted to finish anytime this month, so I hope to piecemeal each point as time allows. Once I get out as many points as I can, I hope to summarize my thoughts, since each point will do very little on its own, and I hope to be find clarity as I go.