The Left has long pined for and sought Universal Single-payer Healthcare and there are those on the Right who are insisting it is inevitable and even desirable.  I BELIEVE THEY ARE WRONG!  Oh, I am not saying that Congress may not force that bitter pill down our throats in the future but it is not the desire of most Americans, not good for America, and would effectively destroy our Healthcare Industry to the hurt of millions.

Charles Krauthammer has stated publicly that “Universal Single-payer” is our eventual condition.  Ben Stein told Neil Cavuto that it is inevitable and that at the end of the day where we would be and the taxpayers were going to have to pick up the tab, so we might as well face it, embrace it, and move toward it.  He expressed that he did not desire it but that it was coming whether we like it or not.  I would not take major exception to Mr. Stein’s comments had he stopped there but he then launched into the Leftist talking point and said, “It is a basic American right to have decent health care. That is a basic right. We live in a very rich country… and the idea that any parent who sees his child born with a serious defect will think, ‘My God, I might not be able to afford to keep my child alive.’ Is abhorrent to everything it means to be an American.”  I understand the plea for compassion but continue to argue that healthcare is not a right.  I understand the plight of facing a catastrophic health issue and not being able to afford the care.  That is not a situation I would wish on anyone and am not insensitive to the trauma of that predicament.  However, to insist that health care is a right opens the door to a virtual Pandora’s Box of situations in which there is no viable or possible solution.

The matter of “pre-existing conditions” is a problem but resorting to ‘Universal Single-payer’ healthcare is not a solution and will not resolve the problems associated therewith.  I am quite sure the advocates on both sides of the issue can cite individuals who either benefited from or lost their battle for life because of ‘Universal Single-payer’ healthcare.  The idea that adopting that system would ensure that no American would be denied care due to a ‘pre-existing condition’ is not valid.  Those systems as are used in other parts of the world often result in the sickest and weakest being pushed to the back of the line for care.  It results in delayed or denied care which seems to be a natural part of Universal Single-payer healthcare.  Why would politicians allow that to become reality?  Simply, groups with political clout that can influence a politician’s re-election chances are more likely to receive good care under that system and those who lack the clout are neglected.  Let me explain.  The people who are gravely ill are relatively few in number and that translates into a small voting bloc, therefore they are less important to the re-election efforts than the larger group who are healthy or suffer lesser illnesses or diseases.  The seriously ill are too weak to protest and may not know the politics involved in their denial or delayed care and do they and their families are not sufficiently alarmed to oust the politicians.

The last time we were force fed a health care bill, namely Obamacare we saw the rise of the Tea Party and a growing segment of society that began to awaken and rise up in opposition to TOTAL CONTROL by the government.  Additionally, what program can you name where the government is in complete control that is efficient?  I want everyone to have decent healthcare. I want everyone to have access to decent health insurance.  However, I also understand that if a person has been negligent and did not purchase coverage while well or have coverage before their child was born there is some responsibility they must bear.  Hopefully, the charitableness of society, charities, and churches will step in and help.  I understand the economics involved in an insurance company charging a higher rate to cover someone with a pre-existing condition and having high-risk pools.  I do not expect them to be compassionate but I do expect them to operate within fiscal reason when setting the rates.  What I would like to see in any Healthcare Bill passed by Congress are Free Market access, competition, and true portability.  True portability would mean, in my view, that if you have insurance and develop a condition but lose your job, your insurance continues at the same rate (your contribution and your employer’s) and your coverage uninterrupted. Some seem to think that if a person loses his/her job their rate should be the same without factoring in the employer’s contribution. That is not reasonable and thus the push for FREE INSURANCE and FREE HEALTHCARE.  My wife is battling for her life with a medical condition that is deemed incurable by the physicians but not by God.  Thankfully we have insurance coverage but if we did not have insurance due to our inability to purchase it or our unwillingness to purchase it and that condition were diagnosed it is not reasonable for us to expect the government to pay for her care.  True Portability would guarantee that we would be allowed, if we could afford it, to pay the premiums and continue with the coverage and care.  That, in my view is reasonable not allowing the government to totally control our care.  I do not trust the government that much to trust them with the life of my wife or myself.

When there is a catastrophic situation in any family regarding health which places care beyond their ability to afford we need human compassion to kick in.  Having served as the pastor of churches I have seen families encounter those situations and we, as a church, did all we could to help.  I have witnessed businesses join our efforts because they saw our compassion and felt the tug at their hearts to alleviate the suffering of the needy.  There are medical charities available and if you cannot afford the care you can go to the Emergency Room and receive care.  Yes, the taxpayers pick up some of that tab but to argue that the only solution is Universal Single-payer health care is false. Our entire tax system is a problem and we have watched government FIX IT so what would cause us to think that government can FIX healthcare?  We need to move toward personal responsibility and competitive availability of health insurance rather than turn to the government to CONTROL another aspect of our lives.

God, bless you and God bless America!