I had a long talk with a mainstream liberal friend of mine about the new healthcare law. His views are honest and sincere and I think worth examining because they probably reflect the views that many of our politicians have. Here were his points:

He thinks the current system is broken because healthcare costs are way too high and there are too many Americans who have no coverage, including illegals. This drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone else because those without coverage go to the ER to get treated or they just don't get any medical care.

He likens healthcare to education. He believes that there are some things that are not suited to be run in the private sector, healthcare being one.

He concludes that this new law is a step to a single payor system (the government) which should control and administer all aspects of healthcare including drugs and medicine because the private sector has shown that it cannot do the job.

Now here is the interesting part. He doesn't think that the government will do a great job running healthcare, he just thinks it will be better and more fair than the private sector.

His conclusion: healthcare should not be, and cannot be, a for-profit venture. Therefore, the government needs to run it because profit is not a proper consideration when treating people's medical needs.

He sees the current bill producing something like public education or the delivery of mail is currently: a blend of private and government run facilities. He thinks the intended and natural progression is to have an all government run healthcare system from top to bottom more like the military. His reasoning is that the for-profit ventures can never cover everyone at a reasonable price. In other words, capitalism and healthcare do not mix.

I don't agree with his reasoning and think it is wrong. But, I found it fascinating because his beliefs are honest and he delivered them to me without all the bluster and rhetoric that our politicians give us. In fact, I think he has articulated what Obama/Pelosi and the others who voted for the bill probably actually believe.

I invite your comments on his thoughts.

Originally posted by Sibilance

Now here is the interesting part. He doesn't think that the government will do a great job running healthcare, he just thinks it will be better and more fair than the private sector.

I think this is the view most 'liberals' (including myself) have.

Also, it would seem to be the most prevalent opinion amongst individuals living in countries that have established single-payer systems.

Yes, having the government run healthcare is not a perfect solution, but it's a better solution than having the industry be privatized.

In my personal opinion, the biggest problem with private insurance is incentive to profit. There should be absolutely no incentive to profit when somebody's life, health, and well-being are on the line. We live in a Capitalist society, and as such we know all too well that when money is involved, companies are not looking out for the well-being of the consumer, but are instead looking out for the well-being of the shareholder and the bottom-line.

Remove the incentive for profit (as in a single payer system) and you solve most of the problems plaguing the current health care system in the US.


Of course, as a liberal, I have to say that the current bill is a complete waste of time, as it does very little to address this key issue.





EDIT to add: Kudos for bringing this up in an atmosphere of rational and intelligent discussion, as opposed to the numerous, mindless "omg health care America is dead!" and "the world economy is going to collapse because we have health care now!" threads. We need more venues of intellectual thought on ATS, and I'm glad to see someone contributing to that.

There has been so much partisan garbage over this stupid health care bill, I was tempted to delete my account today. Your post changed my mind.. temporarily.

[edit on 23-3-2010 by drwizardphd]

First of all, virtually no one is talking about government run health care and to state it as such is a big misunderstanding. The issues being discussed today and included in the recent bill are more along the lines of government regulated and subsidized health insurance industry, not health care or health care delivery per se. Big difference. Kudos to you for at least listening to other views and considering their merits.

Thanks for those who replied. I am one of the odd ducks who found the healthcare vote and debate to be very healthy for our country. People started actually reading the constitution, looking at how bills become laws, thinking about what their elected representatives actually do, and most importantly, began to think about the proper role and scope of our federal government.

I wish this would have been a more vigorous conversation because I think it goes to the essence of what we want our government to do and be, or in my case not do or be.

I have added some of you as respected foes. Even though I disagree with the conclusions, I crave the honest, straight-forward dialogue and thoughts. They are so hard to come by in almost any other format.