Selling Us How Wonderful Health Payment System Will Be
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
Last evening I had the chance to sit down and watch local Reno television for a little while. After the experience I’m glad that my satellite service is operational. In between commercials telling me how wonderful the health payment system that our U.S. Senator manipulated through the legislative process is going to be there were several interruptions of programming. It seems like the game plan I read about in a news article earlier in the day was already in play.
For some reason the talking points on how wonderful things were going to be (whenever they get done deciding through the behind closed door negotiating) there was not mention made about the government mandate that you will pay a tax if your current policy is considered to be too good. It also didn’t mention the requirement that you will participate or pay a tax fine for that too. The details of how cutting payouts is the factor behind the “savings” being realized didn’t get mentioned either. All in all, the few points we’re supposed to understand as the merits for the government’s heavy hand of involvement in the payments of health care, seem to be rather shallow when you consider the ramifications of the expanded intrusion. Then again shallow benefits overshadowing consequences is what the present political climate is all about.
Ezra Klein, reporting on the public’s shift in attitude sort of came to the same conclusion. It would seem that selling American’s the advantages of spending other people’s money is pretty easy – who’s going to ever notice that at some point the “other guy’s” money might be yours…
There are lots of problem areas in the health care system which need attention -- the costs and availability of service are a couple of majors that come to mind. How well the results of a government dominated, socialized approach, will resolve health care problems will remain to determined. Whether they will be as good as the TV commercials want us to believe or even have anything to do with the sales points we’re supposed to embrace likely won’t have much to do with anything beyond convincing those who already believe the hype being shoveled.
Last evening I had the chance to sit down and watch local Reno television for a little while. After the experience I’m glad that my satellite service is operational. In between commercials telling me how wonderful the health payment system that our U.S. Senator manipulated through the legislative process is going to be there were several interruptions of programming. It seems like the game plan I read about in a news article earlier in the day was already in play.
For some reason the talking points on how wonderful things were going to be (whenever they get done deciding through the behind closed door negotiating) there was not mention made about the government mandate that you will pay a tax if your current policy is considered to be too good. It also didn’t mention the requirement that you will participate or pay a tax fine for that too. The details of how cutting payouts is the factor behind the “savings” being realized didn’t get mentioned either. All in all, the few points we’re supposed to understand as the merits for the government’s heavy hand of involvement in the payments of health care, seem to be rather shallow when you consider the ramifications of the expanded intrusion. Then again shallow benefits overshadowing consequences is what the present political climate is all about.
Ezra Klein, reporting on the public’s shift in attitude sort of came to the same conclusion. It would seem that selling American’s the advantages of spending other people’s money is pretty easy – who’s going to ever notice that at some point the “other guy’s” money might be yours…
There are lots of problem areas in the health care system which need attention -- the costs and availability of service are a couple of majors that come to mind. How well the results of a government dominated, socialized approach, will resolve health care problems will remain to determined. Whether they will be as good as the TV commercials want us to believe or even have anything to do with the sales points we’re supposed to embrace likely won’t have much to do with anything beyond convincing those who already believe the hype being shoveled.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 1/14/2010 6:09 AM 
Categories: Nationalized Health Care
Tags: Health Care Legislation U.S. House U.S. Senate Obama Care
Categories: Nationalized Health Care
Tags: Health Care Legislation U.S. House U.S. Senate Obama Care
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