A Libertarian Response To Health Care Reform

While the Republicans and Democrats debate about the Health Care Reform, it appears that the only people affected will be the patient and the health care worker. It did not have to be that way.

The Republicans accuse the Democrats of wanting to "socialize" health care and speeding the legislation while the Democrats accuse the Republicans of stalling. Both parties and the government in Washington are at fault for what has happened.

The health care system was once an arrangement between the health care worker and the patient. It was natural that both knew what was wrong with the patient and that both resolved the situation.

When Medicare and Medicaid were approved by the Congress as an extension of the Social Security Act, the government and the insurance companies started to interfere in this relationship. It should also be mentioned that the FDA [Food and Drug Adninistration], the DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency], and the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms complicated things with excess regulations and bureaucracy.

The above mentiones agencies along with the desire to sue and the false accusations of Health Care Workers becoming rich [while in fact the US Governing Elite have become rich and have a different system than the US Citizens] have collaborated in taking away from the patient their choice of treatment, health care worker, and eventually most of their money.

The Republicans and Democrats care little for the US Citizens and are only in favour of their own interests. While it appears that the USA is at a dead end when it comes to a health care system being forced among its people just like everything else was in the past, there is a solution.

The time has come to return the health care system to its rightful owners which is the patient and the health care worker. The taxes and insurance companies should be removed from the health care equation. Medicare, Medicaid, as well as Social Secutiry should be made voluntary.

One way of reducing health care costs would also be placing emphasis on prevention, eating right, and exercising. The people should also question the mythology of the health care worker living like millionaires. It is the politicians, the rich, and famous in Hollywood that gain more than five Physicians and five nurses combined.

We the people should also take into account that a Health Care Worker spends four years in college, four years in medical school, four years in residency, and four years undergoing training in a specialty. The Health Care Worker has to purchase a lot of books for his or her studies, spend money for board examinations at the state, federal, and specialty level.

What about the fact that the Health Care Worker has to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year? He or she is willing to do that out of love for the patient in spite of the excess regulations and mythologies. It is hoped that this article could get a new discussion started on how to reduce government involvement in health care and correct mythologies.