Right, left: Reform is necessary

A common misconception about conservatives is that they believe there is no need for health care reform. If there is one thing upon which Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives can agree, it’s that the American health care system is broken.

The issue at hand is what aspect is broken about it. Liberals generally believe the only way to fix the problem is to create a whole new system – via the government – similar in tone to programs laid out by Canada and the United Kingdom. Thankfully, conservatives are not just trying to say no to every piece of legislation presented, because they have their own plan, too.

According to Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, the Republican and conservative response is much more upbeat, because they believe the current system is fixable. The idea includes promoting competition between private health insurance companies and reforming the Medicare payment system, and by ending the “lottery” court system by capping damage awards ordered by activist judges.

With the passage of a plan by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives, the fears of government-run health care are one step closer to becoming a reality. According to interviews on various news networks, the legislation would require individuals and businesses to be covered or face financial penalties, or even imprisonment.

Government-run health care in the marketplace could be the most disastrous thing to come to private insurers. America was built to be – and prides itself as – a capitalistic society. If America is introduced to a government-run plan, the private insurers will slowly lose their competition and the American economy will crumble.

Democrats want to create a public option that could potentially eliminate any private option currently in operation. The provisions against them require them to insure all, no matter what cost, and thus make it harder for the private companies to stay in business.

Conservatives, on the other hand, fear the legislation could lead to a socialistic society. A society where the government runs all aspects of our lives, by creating an entire takeover of our economy led by the government in the health care industry.

While it’s too late to get through to our members of the do-nothing House, Americans can stand up and fight against the U.S. Senate. We should not be forced to accept a plan for America that will bankrupt the country and create the largest deficit America has ever seen.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 20 2009. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry