Even Jay Evensen of the Deseret News
Op-Ed crew is rethinking the health care debate... somewhat.
“My
thoughts? Health reform is much needed in this country. We spend more
per capita for health care than any other industrialized country
($5,711 in 2003, for instance, compared to Sweden's $2,745),” Evensen
said in an op-ed article, stating facts that advocates for universal
health care have been citing for years. It seems right-wing
commentators now use such facts as if they're brand new.
But he seems a little confused as to whether he wants to commit the
conservative faux pas of accepting a public option solution to the
problem. He says “Public funding probably will be needed to pay for the
coverage of people too poor to afford it,” but then goes on to say “I
firmly believe, however, that a competing "public plan" would be
disastrous. The government, with its vast resources, can't compete
fairly with the private sector.”
First of all, how does Evensen think Medicare and Medicaid are funded?
Public money, obviously. And he doesn't even put together that the
reason countries like Sweden have such lower per capita health care
cost is because of a comprehensive public plan.
But Evensen really errs by not mentioning that we already have public
plans with Medicare and Medicaid, CHIP, and other programs. Covering
all Americans, as he says should be done, makes public plans necessary.
These programs work, but the red tape and limited pool coverage they
have are not cost effective. The Commonwealth Fund, one of the most
respected foundations in the country, has reported that a typical
American family could save nearly $1,000 a year in health care costs
with a comprehensive public health-insurance plan.
Evensen's thoughts on health care reform is that of a conservative
walking on egg shells, struggling to deny the need for a public option
while embracing public funding. Sorry Evensen, I know you have a
free-capitalist image to live up to, but you can't have your cake and
eat it too. Public funding necessitates a public
plan.
Here is something to consider; In a poll in the University of Indiana
last year, 60 percent of American doctors now support a tax system that
provides for healthcare. In other words, they've learned that the only
thing worse than government-ran health care is corporate-ran health
care.