Bernie Sander’s Health Care: An alluring solution, or a hollow idea that will drive us off a fiscal cliff? Can’t we do better?

Bernie Sander’s Health Care: An alluring solution, or a hollow idea that will drive us off a fiscal cliff?  Can’t we do better?

Senator Sanders continues to promote centralized, federalized, socialized, communized - whatever you want to call it - American health care (http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/healthtrending/what-would-sanders-medicare-for-all-bill-mean-for-you/ar-AArSTsZ?li=AA5LBhu&ocid=spartanntp). Also dubbed the “Single Payer System,” or “Medicare For All.”  I don’t aim to destroy a political leader’s efforts to do the right thing for the benefit of our families and communities, but I do want to raise the red flag of caution when “leaders” offer solutions without the means to pay for them and the machinery to efficiently administrate them.  Is that fair?  The track record of government controlled monopolies has not turned out well for us.  I assert that you should not be fooled by demagogues who promise solutions without a comprehensive plan to make them work.

Sure, we all want free first class medical coverage.  I would be the first to get into the front of the line for that if I could get a deal like that.  Who wouldn’t – right?  And, Senator Sander’s statistics on American longevity relative to what American’s pay for healthcare is on target.  Americans pay more than any other country on health care, and yet we rank more than 40 from the top on life expectancy compared to other nations.  The statistics are abysmal, and are a window into what further government control would look like. 

Of course, the reasons for this situation include poor government regulatory and fiscal policy, special interest lobbies, and multi-term politicians who are ineffective at fixing the problem while we as a nation continue to sell debt to make up for the shortfall in tax revenue to cover existing government expenses.  But, we all know this.  And yet, even though we complain, many of us, sad to say, do not take action to fix it.  Many of us quietly acquiesce to disgust and hopelessness and a posture of non-involvement.  My proposal to fix health care, first: get involved and start with voting every incumbent out.  You can do it – only YOU can do it!

Second: Folks, I propose that Bernie, or anyone else proposing that the Federal Government take over and manage health care, should insist that the government first fix what’s already on its plate.  Show me you can do a good job with what you’ve got, Uncle Sam, and then let’s talk about taking on more – right?  The U.S. Postal Service is, and has been, bankrupt for years.  The Amtrak Railroad system is a financially underwritten government operation that continues to lose taxpayer money every year.  The financial crisis was born out of a lack of intelligent government oversight and regulation of the banking system – which lit the fuse that collapsed the global economy and eroded the world’s confidence in America’s capacity to lead global affairs.  The list goes on and on.  And let’s not forget the elephant in the room - a $20 trillion U.S. government debt load – more than 100% of our annual national income (Gross Domestic Product – GDP) - that keeps growing out of control.  Folks, this is REALLY bad!   We can demand better!!!

Before we take the training wheels off the Federal government’s experiments in fiscally managing what’s already on their plate and give them more, maybe we should insist on the government fixing what they’ve got before they make health care matters worse by increasing your costs, reducing your quality of health care, and driving our country deeper into debt. 

I’m not proposing we simply ignore solutions to health care.  We want better and we need solutions.  America has the best medical technology, research centers and medical schools in the world.  And, the money is already there for the best system in the world.  America spends at least 8.1% of our GDP on health care – more than any other country in the universe.  A better approach is obviously needed to administrate health care.

Third:  Proposed way-forward: Present a referendum on viable options, propose a no single payer health care system option (i.e. no Government monopoly), Federal oversight of minimum standards, (intelligent regulation), State control, but competitive nationally, based on State needs. This is a math and socio-ethic values problem and how to pay for it.  Remember, State Legislatures are responsible for balancing their budgets and managing their deficits.  That kind of fiscal control is healthy.  The Federal Government has demonstrated only a capacity to borrow more and more and throw us deeper and deeper into debt.  A bi-partisan Congressional Committee approach that culminates in a national referendum after Congress has voted on prioritized options should be pursued.  If, like The Utah Bull Moose Party, elected officials are there to “do the right thing” without concern for re-election, favorable outcomes are most likely to happen.