Friday, November 19, 2010

Debt Control and Health Care Freedom Go Hand-in-Hand

Last night, the Senate has passed a temporary postponement of the scheduled 23% cut in Medicare payments to health care providers (known as the Medicare SGR). If passed by the House when congress reconvenes after Thanksgiving, this bill would move the starting date of the cuts from December 1st to January 1st.

According to the CBO (quoted in an article on Medscape), this delay will cost $1 billion over 10 years. If the "doc-fix" is extended for a full year, the AMA estimates it will add $15 billion to government spending.

With the national debt rising to dangerous levels, serious cuts to government spending are paramount. President Obama's debt commission has made some interesting recommendations--but even better is the proposal by Jeffery Anderson:

Repeal the PPACA (ObamaCAre) and save $747 billion by not subsidizing insurance through the exchanges, and save another $540 billion of spending by not expanding Medicaid and CHIP.

So, repeal ObamaCare and save at least $1.287 trillion through 2020.

Here's another idea:

Let the Medicare cuts go into effect---but end government price-fixing in health care and allow balance billing. This simple act alone will not only save trillions in government spending but will be a large step toward getting the rise in health care costs under control, ending the physician shortage and reestablishing the proper balance between specialists and primary care.

To get the economy back on track, we need to get serious about cutting back the burden of government spending.

To get health care costs under control, we need to end government support of the third-party payment system, and let the market work.

And as a bonus, we will regain important personal freedoms and reverse the trend toward unlimited government power.




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