Tuesday, September 16, 2008

NY Times Op-Ed: Condescension at its best.

What I read in the New York Times Op-Ed about the crisis with the health care system in the U.S. carries with it a disturbing strain of condescension from people who must think we are all innocent children that need to be cared for by the State.

Specifically what got me this evening is an Op-Ed by Bob Herbert titled McCain's Radical Agenda about McCain's plan to reform the health care system.  Here is a great quote from that article:
The upshot is that many more Americans — millions more — will find themselves on their own in the bewildering and often treacherous health insurance marketplace. As Senator McCain has said: “I believe the key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves.”
I don't know about the rest of the "millions of Americans" but I think I can understand the health insurance marketplace and actually I would like to, as a patient, have better control of our health care system.

Here is another quote:
Yet another radical element of McCain’s plan is his proposal to undermine state health insurance regulations by allowing consumers to buy insurance from sellers anywhere in the country. So a requirement in one state that insurers cover, for example, vaccinations, or annual physicals, or breast examinations, would essentially be meaningless.
and the opinion of the columnist:
This entire McCain health insurance transformation is right out of the right-wing Republicans’ ideological playbook: fewer regulations; let the market decide; and send unsophisticated consumers into the crucible alone.
Unsophisticated consumers?!?!?  He is talking about us.  I don't know about you but I would still like to decide things for myself.  The idea of increasing competition and options in health insurance seems like about all I want the government to do on this issue.  And how about for good measure checking to make sure the American Medical Association is not doing anything to prevent unfettered competition in the healthcare market place.  Generally speaking in the free market as prices rise it naturally brings in competition to the market which then makes prices go down.  If this doesn't happen rather than shouting that the free market doesn't work why don't we inspect to make sure there is actually a free market there?

I don't need to be cared for by the government,  I need the government to ensure that laws are enforced that prevent openess of the health care marketplace and provide for hefty penalties in cases of corporate mis-representation.