Health Care Reform – Introduction
I considered avoiding this topic since there’s so many others writing and talking about it, but with all the misinformation on all sides of this issue, I feel I need to bring some sanity to the conversation. Health care reform is a complicated issue and there’s no way I can cover everything that needs to be said about it here at the Freedom Minute. Countless books, research papers, college courses and articles provide volumes of information for anyone who wants to look for it. Yet most people don’t look for it. They continue with their pre-conceived ideas, certain in the correctness of their “facts”. I’ll attempt to distill down the vast amount of information available and present it in a clear and concise manner, free as much as possible from ideology and rhetoric.
I’m going to divide this up into a bunch of different posts, partly because I don’t want to have to write it all at once and partly because dividing it up will make it easier to follow. Much of what follows is not simply my opinion, but rather the result of countless hours of research and investigation. I use mostly verifiable, independent, peer-reviewed sources and if I make an assertion, I’ll attempt to cite those sources so you can check them out yourself. Mostly I’ll be paraphrasing the relevant data, but when I quote another source directly, I’ll use italics so you know when that’s happening.
Another important thing to note is that I believe that we need to reform our health care system. I’ll state that again so there’s no misunderstanding, I believe that we need to reform our health care system. However, as I’m sure will be no surprise to regular readers of this blog, I don’t believe that the various proposals making their way through congress are the best way to go about it. Of course, we really don’t yet know what the final bill will look like, so we’ll just have to take an educated guess based on what is most likely to be in the final version and I’ll do that based on what President Obama has stated are his goals.
First, however, we need to take a look at what the problems are and what has/is causing them. Just like a competent doctor, we need to diagnose first before we can suggest the proper treatment. I think you may be surprised by this part because it could very well challenge some of your deeply held beliefs. When I first started my research, I thought I knew, but then those pesky little facts kept getting in the way.
I invite and encourage you to post your thoughts and reactions. I love a vigorous debate but there are a few ground rules. First, rudeness will not be tolerated, neither will demagoguery. No insults, name calling, or flame wars. We’ll leave that to the politicians. Second, it’s ok to state your opinion, but try to recognize that an opinion doesn’t qualify as fact. If you make an assertion, you should be prepared to back it up with some verifiable source and “Sicko” doesn’t count. Neither does Fox News, or MSNBC, or ABC for that matter. These are all biased sources, some more than others. In addition, most reporters really don’t have the depth of understanding about economics needed to analyze this issue. For example, one of my favorite ABC reporters is Dr. Timothy Johnson. He always provides knowledgeable and well researched information – when he’s talking about medicine. When he branches out into commenting on the economic impact of the various health care reform proposals – not so much. To quote a beloved Star Trek character, “he’s a doctor, not an economist.” He should stick to matters of medicine, not public policy. Likewise, most other reporters don’t have the knowledge and training to understand the underlying economics of the subjects they are reporting on either. As a result, we mostly get superficial reporting or a regurgitation of the prevailing wisdom. Don’t let them be your only source of information. Google is your friend.
Ok, on to part one – Why is Health Care So Expensive?
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by David Boaz or 
by David Bergland, both excellent books on libertarian thought.
