Healthcare: Too Important to Be a Monopoly

Is the federal government equipped to take over the entire health insurance industry? In the Democratic Presidential debates many candidates advocate “Medicare for All.” Don’t let that innocuous name fool you. A single payer healthcare plan would take away private insurance that most Americans have and replace it with a one-size fits all government monopoly.
Progressive extremists claim to be concerned about making health care affordable and expanding coverage to all Americans, but a government takeover of health insurance is the exact wrong way to go about it. Anyone who’s been to the Registry of Motor Vehicles knows what will happen if the government is our only insurer.

Whether it goes by Medicare for All, single payer, or a public option—any one of these government-run health care proposals would lead to higher taxes, longer waiting times, diminished access, and lower quality of care. Each would also end private and employer-based plans—which together currently cover more than 67% of all Americans. Even under a public option, private plans would be unable to compete with a subsidized public option plan until all that is left is the government monopoly plan.

Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all has never worked in health care. Particularly for many rural communities nationwide, government-run health care would wreak havoc on accessibility and affordability. One study suggests introducing a public option—which is one of the approaches being pushed—would put 55% of rural hospitals across the country at “high risk of closure.” This is since the claimed lower cost of Medicare for All is based on the fairy-tail assumption that it would pay doctors and hospitals at the below cost rates that Medicare currently pays which are subsidized by the higher prices paid by private insurers that progressives want to abolish!

The possibility of closing over 1,000 rural hospitals nationwide and lower quality care everywhere would be a disaster in the making for communities and individuals struggling to fight opioid addictions and other medical conditions. As it is, accessing quality care in remote, rural communities is difficult enough, with patients often traveling hours just for their treatments or to be seen by a qualified professional. If the future of rural hospitals and emergency rooms are jeopardized under a government-run health care system, then some of our nation’s most vulnerable, at-risk patients are at risk.

Rather than trying to rally extreme left wing of their base, Democrats should work with President Trump to pass actual solutions that will make a real difference in Americans’ lives. Our legislators should come together and focus on doing their jobs with respect to important items such as curbing runaway prescription drug costs affecting so many and ensuring transparency in medical billing.
There is no good reason to undermine our entire health care system to pursue some pipe dream built on the notion that the government will somehow do a better job of managing health care insurance than the private market has done. Ask yourself, do I want my health insurance to be like a trip to the supermarket or a trip to the RMV?

The views in this column are my own. Office hours will be by appointment. I can be reached by phone at (781)438-5720 or email @ ContactCarolineforinfo@gmail.com
Caroline Colarusso is the Republican State Committeewoman for the 5th Middlesex District which includes Stoneham, Wakefield, Melrose, Malden, Reading, and Winchester ( 1,2,3,8)