http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/ The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:04:42 -0500 hourly 1 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/comment-page-1/#comment-15728 Colorado Health Insurance Insider » Health Wonk Review - July 12, 2007 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:45:18 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/#comment-15728 [...] Sarah Dine of Health Affairs Blog offers musings on SiCKO with regard to America’s historical view of the individual versus communal social contract. She links to research published in Health Affairs journal showing that nearly 50% of U.S. health care will soon be financed by the government–even without any health reform. [...] [...] Sarah Dine of Health Affairs Blog offers musings on SiCKO with regard to America’s historical view of the individual versus communal social contract. She links to research published in Health Affairs journal showing that nearly 50% of U.S. health care will soon be financed by the government–even without any health reform. [...]

]]> http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/comment-page-1/#comment-6101 Health Wonk Review - July 12, 2007 : Colorado Health Insurance Insider Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:35:01 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/#comment-6101 [...] Sarah Dine of Health Affairs Blog offers musings on SiCKO with regard to America’s historical view of the individual versus communal social contract. She links to research published in Health Affairs journal showing that nearly 50% of U.S. health care will soon be financed by the government–even without any health reform. [...] [...] Sarah Dine of Health Affairs Blog offers musings on SiCKO with regard to America’s historical view of the individual versus communal social contract. She links to research published in Health Affairs journal showing that nearly 50% of U.S. health care will soon be financed by the government–even without any health reform. [...]

]]> http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/comment-page-1/#comment-6068 RobertBurney Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:35:22 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/#comment-6068 The only way to provide healthcare for our needy without increasing total expenditures for healthcare is to make our present system more efficient. There's room to do this, but it requires price competition at the individual service level. Buying health insurance for the uninsured without concomittant payment reform would only perpetuate inefficiency. The only way to provide healthcare for our needy without increasing total expenditures for healthcare is to make our present system more efficient. There’s room to do this, but it requires price competition at the individual service level. Buying health insurance for the uninsured without concomittant payment reform would only perpetuate inefficiency.

]]> http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/comment-page-1/#comment-6064 mkjgrima Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:39:29 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/#comment-6064 So what do you suggest? That we form local communes and build little local health systems one at a time? Would you also have us plan roads, land use, utilities and public health systems in the same manner? What is this sentiment that you take as given, that government only takes and does not engender? Healthcare is infrasture; the most efficient and equitable way to provide infrastructure is through government. So what do you suggest? That we form local communes and build little local health systems one at a time? Would you also have us plan roads, land use, utilities and public health systems in the same manner? What is this sentiment that you take as given, that government only takes and does not engender? Healthcare is infrasture; the most efficient and equitable way to provide infrastructure is through government.

]]> http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/comment-page-1/#comment-6043 andrewhorning Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:31:16 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/07/03/reform-musings-on-sicko-july-4th-and-visions-of-america/#comment-6043 You make good points, but then you make quite a leap between communitarianism and trust in politicians! Coops, and even communes of like-minded people work well as long as politicians don't meddle. But history is nothing but the brutal truth, over and over again, that it's better to trust your neighbor than to trust a politician. Neighbors raise barns, politicians claim them for taxes. We made a terrible mistake when we allowed government to tax-subsidize health insurance in WWII; that made insurance an unnatural part of healthcare, and tied insurance to employment...particularly to corporations large enough to make campaign contributions, and thereby get better tax perks. Medicare/Medicaid has been so inherently inflationary as to force us to choose between health insurance and healthcare; because the two have become mutually exclusive. So now we've been told we can have socialized healthcare for "free;" just as the "free" healthcare of Europe is breaking the economies of those nations. The real miracle of our founding fathers is that they proved that small government and big liberty works. Communitarianism without politics works. Coops without government interference works. And American liberty, the stuff we threw away, proved to be more effective in building wealth, health, leisure time and innovation, than anything else before...or since. You make good points, but then you make quite a leap between communitarianism and trust in politicians!
Coops, and even communes of like-minded people work well as long as politicians don’t meddle. But history is nothing but the brutal truth, over and over again, that it’s better to trust your neighbor than to trust a politician. Neighbors raise barns, politicians claim them for taxes.
We made a terrible mistake when we allowed government to tax-subsidize health insurance in WWII; that made insurance an unnatural part of healthcare, and tied insurance to employment…particularly to corporations large enough to make campaign contributions, and thereby get better tax perks. Medicare/Medicaid has been so inherently inflationary as to force us to choose between health insurance and healthcare; because the two have become mutually exclusive.
So now we’ve been told we can have socialized healthcare for “free;” just as the “free” healthcare of Europe is breaking the economies of those nations.
The real miracle of our founding fathers is that they proved that small government and big liberty works. Communitarianism without politics works. Coops without government interference works. And American liberty, the stuff we threw away, proved to be more effective in building wealth, health, leisure time and innovation, than anything else before…or since.

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