Beating a dead horse?

Not! Health care is too important not to examine ad nauseam. You must educate yourself and act in some manner to help turn back, or at the very least dramatically alter, the impending and sweeping changes being pushed upon us by Congress. The following will help educate you.

There are two terms or phrases you must know: "public option" (government supplied health care available to the public), which is best debunked here and "single payer" which I will define and also attempt to debunk here.

As defined by proponents, "single-payer" is a term used to describe a type of financing system. It refers to one entity acting as administrator, or “payer.” In the case of health care, a single-payer system would be setup such that one entity—a government run organization—would collect all health care fees, and pay out all health care costs. In the current US system, there are literally tens of thousands of different health care organizations—HMOs, billing agencies, etc. By having so many different payers of health care fees, there is an enormous amount of administrative waste generated in the system. (Just imagine how complex billing must be in a doctor’s office, when each insurance company requires a different form to be completed, has a different billing system, different billing contacts and phone numbers—it’s very confusing.) In a single-payer system, all hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers would bill one entity for their services. This alone reduces administrative waste greatly, and saves money, which can be used to provide care and insurance to those who currently don’t have it.

Now shift gears here and think about Wal-Mart. They did the same thing by consolidating all of the smaller hardware stores, clothing stores and grocery stores in your town into a single point-of-purchase system. Are you following me here?

The retail purchasing experience in your life was simplified and prices dropped on almost everything you purchase on a weekly basis. But it only works for them and for you because Wal-Mart is driven by profit (it's very important to remember here that governments are not driven by profit).

Now before you misunderstand me, remember, there is a big argument over whether Wal-Mart is a good thing or an evil thing.

Sure, prices came down but a lot of small business owners (actual people) were squashed and lost their economic livelihood in the process and as a result a lot of other people lost their jobs. In addition, I can no longer find that specialized little hardware widget I need to repair my old bathroom faucet and I can't find a good cut of tri-tip steak anymore.

As a result, I now have to replace my faucet with one that was made in China and be satisfied with a cut of sirloin. That is, after I stand in line for 30 minutes. And there have been times when Wal-Mart has been completely out of my particular brand of coffee and there's no other place in town to purchase it anymore.

So... you be the judge. As for me? I'm not sure single anything is good for anyone.

Beyond that, designating an entity such as the US government as being the "single payer" is a ludicrous concept. The US government already has so many heads and arms it is teetering on near chaos (causing a great amount of angst among it's citizens) and is without doubt, very inefficient.

I don't want my health care Wal-Martized. Standing in line for the acquisition of inexpensive daily staples is one thing; standing in line for inferior and rationed medical products and services as defined by a single provider is quite another.

- Larry