stethoscopeRecently the federal government unveiled part of its plan to overhaul our health care system under the umbrella of Obamacare. A report was put out by independent experts at the Institute of Medicine that lays down some guidelines for what should constitute the new “essential benefits package.”

According to the Associated Press:

The advisers recommended that the package be built on mid-tier health plans currently offered by small employers, expanded to include certain services such as mental health, and squeezed into a budget. They did not spell out a list of services to cover, but they did say that treatments should be cost-effective.

Oh! I didn’t know that passing a law made something a reality. You know what? We should make homelessness illegal. Also? Douchebaggery. There. Now all the Occupy Wall Street kids will have to go home. 

In all seriousness, why is it the government’s job to decide what private citizens need? Just because something (like health insurance) is good doesn’t mean it needs to be mandatory. Why should I have to buy insurance that includes coverage of things I might not want or need covered? Am I even going to be allowed to decide what kind of deductible I’m willing to pay, in exchange for higher or lower monthly rates?

The market drives down costs, not the government. The public will always want the best option for the best price, and entrepreneurs (also known as fat cats) will compete with one another to create products and services that consumers will purchase.

Nothing about Obamacare will be cost-effective. Look at the mess the government has made of Medicare and Medicaid. The government decided that doctors had to provide coverage for people without regard to what the services actually cost the physicians. In order to recoup their costs, they have to inflate their prices to private patients. As costs soar, more and more people are forced to drop private insurance, shrinking the pool of people actually paying for health care.

There are not a lot of people willing to go into the incredibly demanding field of medicine without compensation for their time and talent, let alone a way to pay back all of those horrendous medical school loans. Who would take on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and work 90+ hours a week, only to be told by Uncle Sam that they cannot charge what they’re worth?

Doctors are people, and health care is neither a right nor a privilege -- it’s a service.


Image via tjmwatson/Flickr