In our opinion: Time to tackle government-supplied health care before it gets unmanageable
Census data now shows about 122 million Americans rely on government health insurance programs of one sort or another, a figure reported recently by the pollster scottrasmussen.com.
Of this, 62.5 million are enrolled in Medicaid, the government program for low income people, 55.6 million are on Medicare, which primarily serves the elderly, and 15.5 million rely on military health care plans. The total represents an increase of about 14 million people enrolled in a government plan since 2013.
Americans may not be aware of this gradual shift toward a government-dominated health care system. Regardless of how they feel about it, the shift ought not to take place without a robust public debate.
That debate seems to be happening more on state levels than in
Unfortunately,
Under
The Trump administration expanded short-term, health care plans and
But while the health care act was flawed,
Americans, however, continue to believe health care is fundamentally important for a quality life.
A recent ScottRasmussen.com national poll found 68 percent believe it is very important for every American to have access to quality health care, with another 16 percent believing it to be somewhat important.
Also, 81 percent said they favored providing financial assistance to people too poor to afford it.
However, only 42 percent said they supported paying more for their own health insurance to make sure every American had access to such a thing. Therein lies the problem.
The Affordable Act at least acknowledged the value of market competition through its marketplace exchange concept. The danger of a government-run, universal care system is that the lack of competition and consumer choice would lead to higher costs and the rationing of certain types of care.
But the bigger the share of government-insured patients becomes, the harder it becomes for private insurers to compete for the remaining customers. With so-called baby boomers retiring, the ranks of an already financially strapped Medicare program are bound to grow. And a system that relies on third-party insurers to pay bills has little chance to bring down soaring health care costs.
So what does it all mean? The time is now to bring together a coalition of non-partisan medical and financial experts to tackle the problem before it gets unmanageable. That’s a move
In a nation of roughly 325 million people, having 122 million of them, or 38 percent, insured by the government represents growing costs and challenges. Absent a workable, well-vetted plan to handle costs, ensure competition and include the indigent and elderly, the nation appears destined to slide even farther into a system many people don’t want — one that continues to be expensive and confusing for consumers.
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