Health Care "Reform" (sigh)

With the near certainty of this health care bill being signed into law, our politicians continue to say one thing and do another.  Do we need health care reform? - without a doubt, but this plan does nothing to reform the major problems. 

The main talking point the proponents have used is that it helps reduce the deficit by some fairly large number over the next ten years (BTW take note that they always say the next 10 years, never longer), and it does do this.  But do you know why?  Because for the first 4 years they payout nothing.  All they do is collect in new taxes to "fund" the program.  Then after the first 4 years they finally start to enact the program.  Now I ask you, if you were given a business where you had absolutely no expenses (aka claims) for 4 years but you had tons of revenue (aka taxes), could you make a profit (aka have a surplus)?  Of course.  However, if you look at any numbers over the following ten years, the true cost of this program adds tremendously to our already ever bludgeoning debt.

So what are some of the major problems of our current health care system that have led to skyrocketing costs and premiums for Americans?

1)  Medicare/medicaid:  Currently the government forces doctors/hospitals to accept below market rates for medicare patients because the program is essentially broke.  The government cannot afford to pay market rate because the fund is empty.  So what do these entities then do?  Obviously they pass the costs on to everyone else.  As baby boomers get older and more people enter the poverty zone, medicare/medicaid has grown tremendously.  This means everyone else has had to pick up a larger and larger portion of the health care costs that medicare/medicaid do not pay for.  This leads to higher and higher premiums.  Why does the government get to negotiate (force) a better price for itself than the average health plan can get for its clients.  Does this health care bill address this?  NO

2) Tort Reform:  Americans sue over everything.  EVERYTHING.  We are the leading country in lawsuits by an unimaginable percentage, and the lawsuits get larger and more ridiculous every year.  It is called practicing medicine for a reason.  Mistakes happen, side effects happen.  There is no other country I'd trust my life to doctors than America, but sometimes shit happens.  Now if a doctor amputates the wrong arm, I can understand suing him, but if someone you loves dies in an operation where there is an 80% chance of survival, then pray that he/she has gone to a better place. Don't blame the doctor/hospital.  What this has led to are doctors prescribing all sorts of tests to cover there asses when a patient comes in for a fairly routine issue.  Also E&O (errors and omission- aka lawsuit protection) insurance has skyrocketed.  Both of these items have led to ever increasing insurance costs also.  Does this health care bill address this? NO

3) Drug costs:  Right now drug companies charge Americans far more for drugs here than in any other country.  Why is this the case?  Oh yeah, because the lobbyists for drug companies have gotten our politicians to set extremely tough standards for generic drugs.  Drug patents last for a long time and often get extended for a variety of reasons.  Go to Canada, Europe, Asis and you can get the same drugs there for pennies on the dollar than it costs Americans here (even though a vast majority of the drugs get created here).  Drug companies can't charge ridiculous prices overseas because generics would crush them, so they sell them at tiny margins there, and jack them up here.  Essentially Americans are fitting the bill for the rest of the world.  So why don't Americans just buy the drugs overseas and ship them here in bulk to keep down costs?  Oh yeah (another law passed by our politicians looking out for us) it is illegal and we'd get fined or face jail time.  Does this health care bill address this?  NO

So do I want health care reform?  Desparately, but not this health care reform.  It just does not address the issues that are causing the problems.  Address the above issues, and then we can talk.  Until then, costs will keep rising.  This bill is essentially just another tax that gives our government some extra revenue to fund their spending habits under the guise of health care reform.