Health care isn’t free, and the system isn’t broken

Opinion: July 19, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

EDITOR:

So Barack Obama wants to fix our broken health care system. Sounds good, but what’s there to fix. It has the best doctors, nurses, equipment, medicines and hospitals. By law, everyone has access to it. As far as the cost goes, if they are up because the number of procedures is up, isn’t that a good thing? More people are being treated and cured. Yet, the cost per procedure is down. In-hospital stays are shorter; medicines are cheaper; and insurance companies have created low cost networks. What’s the problem? It certainly isn’t cost, coverage or effectiveness.

The problem is simple: compassion and freedom. In essence, America’s health care system is a product of its environment — a free and compassionate society. To fix it, government must reduce the compassion and curtail our freedom.

Contrary what you may believe, health care is not free. The patient, the doctor or a compassionate third party must pay for it. The very fact that Americans believe health care is a right speaks well of those compassionate people whose charity has enabled that fantasy. That is the upside of compassion — everyone gets care. Its downside is the cost of giving that care.

Freedom is about choices. As Americans, we can choose to prepare for the future (buy insurance or save) or deny the future (buy the latest ipod or automobile instead). For those who can’t afford the choice, we have shown compassion. But what do we owe those who simply refuse to prepare? Should the 85 percent who made the right choice lose their freedom to choose because 15 percent made a bad choice? Why should the 85 percent be forced to accept less then they have earned?

So how do you fix a system broken by freedom and compassion? For Obama and his Democrat flunkies the answer is simple. Take away the freedom with one-size fits all, and replace the compassion with political patronage. While your grandmother is sent home to die, politicians and their financiers will get the best of everything. Anyone protesting will be branded as “the rich,” greedy, evil, racist or counter-revolutionary. Watch it all unfold. You’ll be amazed how fast your freedoms will disappear and compassion will be redefined in political terms.

THOMAS MASKELL

Poland