The best way to lower health care costs in this country is to tell the government to get their hands out of it and allow the free market to work. One of the reasons that it is already so expensive in the first place is because the multitude of government mandates that have been forced upon the insurance companies. One cannot say, I want coverage for this, but not for that, it is government forced bundling. This is a bit frustrating because there are all kinds of rules and regulations against private companies regarding the bundling of products. Everyone remembers Microsoft. One of the issues with Microsoft was that they were bundling their Windows software with the sale of computers. There are numerous federal laws against this, but these federal laws do not seem to apply to the government itself. Regarding health insurance, it is a service. It is a service offered by a privately owned business. What right does the federal government have to tell a private business what they can and cannot do or what they can and cannot sell?
There are so many regulations requiring insurance companies to cover this and cover that, and it’s no mystery to me why health insurance premiums are so high!! Many states require insurance companies to cover birth control pills, abortion, smoking cessation programs, gastric by-pass surgery, breast reconstruction, and in some states, acupuncture!!?? What if I do not want acupuncture, gastric by-pass, breast reconstruction, or any of these other things?? What if I just want coverage for serious illnesses only and maybe a yearly checkup? All of the mandates so lovingly forced upon us by our federal and local governments forces us to purchase coverage that we do not necessarily want or need! It’s no wonder that premiums are out of the ball park! If the government mandates were removed, the insurance companies would reorganize their insurance packages in order to get the maximum amount of producer surplus. This means that they would offer different packages that would cater to different types of people with different needs at different costs. This means that I could purchase a health care policy that only covered minimal illnesses or emergencies at a very reasonable cost if I wanted to. And as one who does not currently have health insurance, I would certainly be interested in an insurance policy that allowed me to choose what kind of coverage I wanted. I would probably begin paying for insurance tomorrow!!
An extensive health-care policy is not for everyone. Some people are more risk averse than others. There are those who are willing to bear the additional risk in order to use their limited resources towards something else. If a rational person is willing to take that risk, then they also understand that must bear the financial burden if things do not go their way. This issue is not that they wouldn’t be treated, the issue is paying for the treatment. Who is anyone to say that they can’t make that decision. Forcing insurance providers to cover every condition under the sun is the very thing that is causing the number of uninsured to increase. This is done in the name of “helping the poor.” Poor people cannot afford to hedge the risk for every condition! Trust me, the insurance companies would love to have the business of the less fortunate by offering them more conservative policies. It is government bureaucracy, both Democrats and Republicans alike, that will not let this happen. In fact, they want to add more bureaucracy! Either they are stupid or they just don’t care.
How can this happen, you ask? As much as our elected officials promise to be working in our best interest, their actions scream that they are not. They think that American citizens are stupid and are unable to navigate this tough financial world without their help. Isn’t it funny that it’s the Democrats that profess themselves to be the anti-big business, for the little guy, party; yet it’s those very Democrats that insist on bailing out those big businesses with the hard earned money of the American tax payer.
Remember, it’s the free market that is always on the side of consumers. Consumer demand is a main component of price determination in the market. If you think health insurance costs are too high, it’s not due to consumer demand, or lack thereof, for we all agree demand is higher than ever, it’s due to the constraining mandates of our very own government! Please just let free-market competition work!!! Want lower health insurance costs? In free market competition, the greater the demand, the lower the prices.
The Liberty Beacon 