It already does. Hospitals that are heavily weighted in Medicare and Medicaid have a very hard time making it and some don't. Gov't plans take away the competitive nature by running at a deficit and buy paying less than the cost to these hospitals.
I'm not sure that health care and insurance costs are highly inflated. I haven't done the proper research. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it is unfairly inflated. But let's say that it is for your argument. Why the hell are we not addressing the inefficiencies in the current system. Why are we blowing the whole thing up and skewing more towards an overall higher cost. It's idiotic. Let's address the problem, not create a bigger one.
That's a good question and I agree. Our health care here is second to no other country. I can speak from personal experiences with my own family about the financial aspects. Yet in most other countries I fear their fates would have been death. Ultimately financial debt is a small price to pay for life. It's still a tremendous burden though. There will always be some unique cases. However, the type of things I am speaking about is not unique. It's happening each and every day in our country. These are the types of things that should be looked at and addressed. It doesn't require a giant healthcare overhaul and/or reform bill either. Baby steps.
Competition. Remove obstacles to interstate insurance shopping. Also, let small businesses pool together to buy group coverage for more members. Educate patients on Generic alternatives. There are ways. Let the Government wield it's power to regulate, not run the entire thing.
Address inflation with the Fed Reserv. and stop increasing the money supply and articifically holding down interest rates.
I'm with you so far. Yet Medicare is filled with administrative waste, unnecessary procedures, unnecessary equipment, and overbilling all of which are done by private medical providers under government regulation. It seems more like an under-regulation situation rather than over-regulation. That may be an oversimplification. It may be regulated adequately yet expenditures enforced poorly.
The type of "Change" Obama should be looking into is the way the Government runs things. Medicare is a prime example. It's overrun with cost abuses and outright fraud because the layers upon layers of bureaucracy are incapable of monitoring and enforcing the rules that are in place. Look at Cash for Clunkers. Already, the program is a clusterfk because the Bureaucrats can't even manage to reimburse the dealers. And they want to run the Healthcare system? Not while I'm alive.
The issue is they don't do a good job with the regulatory powers they currently have so what's the point in extending the regulation? We need them to actually regulate what they are supposed to be regulating and then look at if it is enough. This is a question of efficiency and not power or regulations. That's why SF, I, and others are frustrated when Obama says he will clean up efficiencies but can't give any real methods he plans on using. This is the most important thing and it's being presented as more of an afterthought.
