Healthcare

A free market health care system must be restored. The newly approved Health Care Reform Bill is an unacceptable violation of constitutional rights and gives the federal government complete control over the health decisions of Americans. It is a form of redistribution of wealth—a socialist system. It needs to be rejected and real work be done to bring down the cost and raise the quality of healthcare in this country.

The federal government has increasingly intervened through Medicare, Medicaid, the HMO Act, and tens of thousands of regulations on doctors, hospitals, and health insurance companies. It has bogged down our system to the point that everyone suffers. Doctors, insurance companies, and especially taxpayers are caught in an endless demand for more money to fund more programs that those in the medical field never see. The money instead goes into the pockets of red-tape-laden bureaucrats and greedy lobbyists.

The government spends more than 50% of all health care dollars on programs that don’t “promote the general welfare” as much as they promote the government’s self-interest. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing. Government health programs are heading for bankruptcy. And yet, politicians continue to pile on the regulations.

The Libertarian Party and I know that only health care reforms that will make a real difference are those that draw on the strengths of the free market.

Keys to accomplishing this goal are to establish the availability of Medical Savings Accounts (MSA), deregulate the healthcare industry, and remove barriers to safe, affordable medicines.

 

Establish Medical Saving Accounts:

Under this program, Americans would have the option and ability to deposit tax-free money into a Medical Savings Account. This would be money that is secure and guaranteed. Whenever the money is needed to pay medical bills, it can be withdrawn without hassle and without penalty fees. For individuals without an MSA, I will work to make all healthcare expenditures 100 percent tax deductible.

Deregulate the healthcare industry:

We should repeal all government policies and regulations that are increasing and bloating healthcare costs and eliminate mandated availability of medical services. These regulations reduce consumer choice and increase the cost of health insurance. By making insurance more expensive, mandated benefits increase the number of uninsured American workers.

Remove Barriers to Safe, Affordable Medicines:

We should replace harmful government agencies like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) with more agile, free market alternatives. The mission of the FDA is to protect us from unsafe medicines. In fact, the FDA has driven up healthcare costs and deprived millions of Americans of much needed treatments. Bureaucratic roadblocks kill sick Americans. Yet, the FDA allows the distribution of other medications that have been shown to lead to severe injury and even death. They are ineffective and this function needs to be turned over to the private sector.

 

We can trust a free market system to protect our most fragile consumers, children, older adults, and poor individuals. Companies will be held to the standards of the American people who can more closely monitor the health of themselves and their loved ones. Those companies that do not provide a high quality product will fail by the people’s hand.

For example, if a child / older adult / poor individual should require health care and not be able to pay full price, then the free market should insist that medical professionals accept a lower rate. If they don’t, then they will be driven out by competitors that are willing to accept a lower rate for services in order to get these high-turnover patients. Medical professionals entered the field to help those in need, not to run a small business that hurts people. Medical costs are inflated due to federal government involvement and high premium insurance. The idea that children, older adults, and poor individuals die in the street from lack of medical care is a myth created by the federal government to create dependency and reject the free market. Any person who goes to an emergency room is provided services with or without the ability to pay.

 

A healthy America is a better America. The healthier people are the more productive they are and the better the economy will be. As the economy grows, so will the number of jobs. As unemployment drops, so will the thousands of socialist safety-nets including Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, and unemployment that are destroying this country through over-taxation and redistribution. The key is to shake off the chains of regulations.