You may just get it…

The subject of today’s commentary is, of course, ‘Health Care Reform’, or as many refer to it: ‘Government Run Health Care’.  No one I know denies that something needs to be done about the high cost of health insurance, the cost of which is simply outrageous. How many of you, on your own (meaning not in part subsidized by an employer), can afford to pay an average of $1,100 per month for a family of four?

With the above taken into consideration, the arguments currently being heatedly debated nationwide are somewhat disingenuous on so many levels and mostly from the left side of the political spectrum.

How is it that the reform that Liberal Progressive Democrats so staunchly advocate does nothing directly about the high cost of health insurance? Somehow they think that spending some $9 trillion dollars over the next ten years will make heath care more affordable for the average family. ‘More affordable’ in my book of definitions means getting the cost down from the lofty heights of $1,100 dollars per month to a more reasonable rate of, let's say, $200 per month for a family of four.  But no… the Liberal’s want the taxpayers (those who work for a living) to subsidize the $1,100 per month… this is their reform… is it your definition of ‘reform’?

Social Security Insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid are nearly broke or going broke, so, what the hell, why not… let’s bring ‘Government Run Health Care’ into the mix, all $9 trillion of it.

The supposed cost savings the Obama people are talking about are from the health ‘care’ expenses that our government and society in general are currently experiencing on a macro level. They intend to enact measures that will control, manage and reduce this ‘expense’ by influencing such matters as your eating habits and other ‘sins’ along with more effective and controlling preventive care… preventive care in the governments opinion (which begs the question how intrusive will our government become regarding our personal lives… with the aid of a centrally, government managed computerized health records system?).

Nothing about Obama’s reform addresses the actual cost of health insurance. It instead has every thing to do with controlling and managing the expense of health care both too our government and our society in general, on a macro level… but absolutely nothing about the ‘cost’ of health insurance, which is unaffordable for most of us without employer subsidy… this aspect of health care is not being truly and honestly dealt with.

We all want ‘health care reform’… but it is the personal cost of health insurance we are concerned with, not just the expense of existing feudal health care regulations and policies, where in resides the real problem regarding the high cost of health insurance (I will deal with this in my next commentary).

Obama’s plan reeks of politburo-style Socialism… power and control. Elites dictating to the masses what 5 year plans are best for you, as if they know how to run your lives better than yourselves. This is not the America I grew up in… nor is it the America our founding fathers fought, bled and died to establish for us all.

Concerning what you are now about to read, some will surely accuse me of fear-mongering and with disseminating ‘misinformation’.  Please feel free to report me to ‘Whitehouse.gov’.

There are, in the state of New York, only 202 hospitals along with a little over 88 thousand physicians, many of which are specialized in one area or another. ObamaCare essentially mandates health insurance coverage for all… do the math, there are only so many x-ray machines, MRI machines and so forth… there are only so many technicians or specialists available to operate these pieces of essential medical equipment. When you provide free health care, how in hell can you expect not to wait in line for your free health care?  How many months before you can get your MRI? And do you really expect the government not to ‘ration’ who gets what care and when? Or will they spend additional ‘trillions’ (on top of the currently projected $9 trillion) to build more hospitals and clinics, produce more ‘essential’ medical equipment and of course produce… factory style… more doctors and PA’s? Who is going to pay for all this?

In my opinion, we are going to wind up with a two tier health care system… one for the very rich and elite (your congressmen and senators… loyal party members… politburo style) and of course one for yourselves, the masses… or more appropriately… peasants.

The very rich and the politically-connected elite will never wait in any line. There will be unwritten ‘priorities’ assigned for care giving along with the creation of private clinics and hospitals (at tax-payer expense).  But what do you care; you got what you wished for… free health care!

For those of you who question the content within the above two paragraphs, do you really think that it isn’t already happening? Ask anybody who is currently on Medicare or Medicaid.  Only certain doctors will accept Medicaid.. and the waiting time for a new patient is almost unbelievable.  None of us are immortal, Ted Kennedy comes to mind… but how many of you think he received specialized treatment and care, without any wait for access to a MRI that many of us can’t even get close to obtaining… on demand.

These are just some of the issues concerning ‘ObamaCare’ that you should really take a hard look at.

Free health care may sound great to many… but it comes with many strings attached that you may not realize or see. And as for it being free… not!  It will be mandatory, free only for those on welfare, and quite possibly, illegals. Don’t get caught without health insurance, the result will be the same as being caught driving a car without insurance. As for the illegals caught without health insurance… big question mark on that one as to what, if any penalty they may face.

If you like welfare… you’ll love ObamaCare!!!

On a side note, Congressman McHugh comes to mind. He wants the Secretary of Army position. If the vote for ObamaCare comes before his appointment… how will he vote? On one hand, he has been a proponent of functional health care reform for years.  On the other, he has already voted in favor of Cap and Trade for obvious reasons (not because he is some kind of environmentalist.)  Will he once again vote with regard to his own personal agenda rather than that of the best interest of the majority of his constituents? If Obama is smart he will hold off on McHugh’s appointment until after the ‘Health Care’ bill is voted upon. Obama needs at least one Republican on his side.

McHugh has already prostrated himself once before the anointed one… what kind of Secretary of Army will he be if he does it again? Is he looking forward to being the next Secretary of Army fired by the Commander In Chief? Or will he become a lap dog for the progressives so as not to be fired?

This is the first of a series of commentaries I will be writing on the health care issue, my next one will deal with ‘alternative’ solutions that do not involve heavy handed, socialist oriented ‘government intervention’. Yes the Republicans, Conservatives and some of your more moderate Democrats (i.e. not ‘progressive liberals’) has repeatedly been offering solutions that the ‘radical progressive left’ continuously ignores.

Please, don’t be like children following a Pied Piper to the abyss. Think twice about this subject… before you get what you wish for…

You might not like the results.

Scott A. Reddick was a participating national socio-political commentator within the Knight-Ridder Newsgroup before becoming the Publisher of The Gouverneur Times.