PULSE OF THE VOTERS: National health care, partial border wall needed

May 28-- May 28--GOSHEN -- As a senior support analyst for hospital electronic records, Ardean Friesen has a vested interest in the health care system. He predicts change is coming and it will likely hurt a bit.

"I predict within the next 10 to 15 years there will be national health care of some sort," he said recently from his Goshen home, where he maintains an office. "I don't see how we can avoid that."

He hopes the president and Congress make health care a boilerplate issue, and would like for it to be addressed by candidates going into the 2020 election. But that would mean Democrats and Republicans would have to work together, and at this point that's not happening.

Aside from partisan politics, the problems of adopting national health care, he said, will be cost control, including major cuts to physicians, hospitals, etc.

"All of that is going to have to be cut to make things even remotely affordable," Friesen said. "That is one thing Obamacare never did. They never addressed tort reform; they never addressed costs. They just gave all of the power to the insurance companies -- and it's nice for them, but it does nothing, in turn, for the consumer. ... Those are all major issues that are going to have to be addressed as we move forward. I don't think commercial insurance is going to be sustainable at the expense levels it is today. It's just not going to happen."

Could national health care be an extension of Medicare? Likely.

"That's probably the most feasible and it won't be liked," he said. "But I don't know how else we are all going to afford health care. Everybody's going to be making adjustments."

As an example, Friesen pointed out that almost every single hospital in this region is expanding and making multi-million dollar additions, "which means financially they are doing quite well. And that's on the heels of us, the consumers."

As a society, though, he said, we expect to have health care. "So, they're kind of required to do it, but who pays for it?"

When national health care happens, he said, "It's going to dramatically change what we have now. ... As a society, we're kind of obsessed with health care and accessibility and getting what we want. And that mindset is going to have to change somewhat. We're going to have to do more taking care of ourselves and not running to the doctor or to the emergency room every time we have a cough or a cold -- that kind of thing. So, it's going to be a major change. Just look to the north in Canada, it would potentially look like something Canada has. I'm not sure -- I think they have good health care, but it's not what we're used to."

Friesen said that a physician he used to work for, who grew up in Canada, told him the county he lived in had one CT scan machine -- one. And it basically ran 24 hours a day.

"Now, if you were to count the number of CT scan machines in Elkhart County there would be multiples of probably 30 and all of those cost $1 or $2 million and they need to be paid for," he said. "And that cost comes again from us and the insurance companies."

Friesen explained the Netherlands operates its health care system similarly to Canada. Their CT scans run 24 hours a day and patients get scheduled for a time that is available. That's how they can control costs. The machine is not just available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., "keeping a $1 or $2 million machine sitting basically for 16 hours out of the day not being useful and being paid for. If it's only being used eight hours a day, it's not cost effective. It's totally crazy. And if we can't get in the very next day, we're mad. We're going to have to reset our expectations."

FAVORITE CANDIDATE

As for the 2020 election, as an independent voter, Friesen is liking Pete Buttigieg.

"I think Pete is kind of a long shot," Friesen said, adding he hoped the South Bend mayor would hold off on running for president for just a bit.

"But he's becoming more liked, incredibly, and what I like about him is he is sensible, he's intelligent, he's well-spoken and he wants to talk about the issues," Friesen said. "He's not necessarily coming with a fist down on the table saying this is what I'm doing, but he's talking about what's going to work or what's going to be the best for our country. And that's what I like about him. No other candidates are really doing that. They're just standing with their political cronies and saying, 'We want to give free things to everybody! Vote for us!'"

Buttigieg is young, Friesen, who is 56, admits. "He's had some experience -- not a lot, but I think that's in some ways appealing."

What Friesen doesn't want to see happen is Americans voting in someone who is going to be 78 years old when they reach the office.

"I just don't think that's a wise thing," he said.

He also believes Buttigieg can bridge the current political divide.

"I think the Democrats and the Republicans are so polarized in their ideologies or their lines, that they're not thinking what's good for the country as a whole," he said. Pointing to Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Friesen said her platform is populist. "I mean, what millennial would not want to get their college paid for? I mean, I can't imagine there is any other reason to do that -- just like Bernie Sanders did -- except to get the populist vote."

But what Warren and Sanders aren't talking about is how to pay for all of this "free" stuff, according to Friesen.

"And then just like the Green New Deal, it's like, it's nice, wouldn't that be great -- but this stuff costs money people," Friesen said. "We have a deficit that's out of control and spending that's out of control and they keep spending. And there's no stopping it. ... Money has to come from somewhere people."

So instead of a populist platform, Friesen is looking for a candidate with a platform that addresses the common good of the country, a platform that builds unity and evaluates national spending.

"Let's start knocking things off that are not necessary and adding things that will be good for the country," he said.

Friesen doesn't think a good platform to run on for president is the Green New Deal. "I think it's a nice thing, and I think as a country, specifically as individuals, being environmentally conscious needs to come from each individual."

But environmental measures in the Green New Deal come at a cost.

"I tend to be less government than more government," he said, but as a realist knows that corporations need government regulations. "They're going to have to have regulations or pollution or whatnot will continue. So what Alexandria Cortez is recommending is cuckoo crazy in my opinion. And she is a special kind of crazy, in my opinion. It's just not doable, and nor could any other country, especially Third World countries, live up to those standards because they cannot afford it. And I'm not saying it doesn't need to happen. I'm just saying we need to be sensible about it."

IMMIGRATION

Speaking of sensible reforms, Friesen said the No. 1, most acutely needed change is immigration.

"If we were to take emotions out of it and look at it from a purely economic standpoint in terms of building a wall vs. spending $30-$40-$50 million a year to staff the border -- and that's ongoing every year -- if we were to use some of that money and build a partial wall, we'd be able to direct people into locations where they could be processed. To me, economically that makes sense. So I'm not necessarily against a border wall. I think it needs to be sensible."

But it's imperative, he said, that money be spent to build processing centers so immigrants coming in can do so quickly, efficiently and humanely.

Friesen also supports finding a citizenship path for DACA residents.

"We can't go back and send all of these people back to where they came from. That is ridiculous," he said.

He has friends who are immigrants who spent many years working to get their citizenship or green card "and it would be sad to allow these people to stay without having to do something similar, but on the other hand we're past that.

"I think we need to come up with a sensible way toward citizenship and be done, and come up with another sensible way -- expedited way -- of being able to process those seeking asylum or a better life. We want people to come to the United States. I want people to come to the United States to find some place they can better themselves and earn a living. I'm all for it. We just need to fix the system so it becomes more suitable for timely processing. And nobody wants to talk about that, they just want to either throw up a wall or send everybody back."

The government, Friesen said, deserves and has the right to know who is within its borders -- if nothing else, for security reasons alone. And if processing can be expedited and not such a major ordeal, he feels fewer people will try to sneak in.

"The people are trying to sneak in because that system is broken," he said.

___

(c)2019 the Goshen News (Goshen, Ind.)

Visit the Goshen News (Goshen, Ind.) at www.goshennews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.