Posted by
William D. Dannenmaier on Saturday, May 03, 2008 12:32:32 PM
Health Care Plans
By
William D. Dannenmaier
Armstrong Williams has written an excellent article on the problem of health care “Washington Needs a New Theme in Health Care Debate,” (Townhall.com, April 28, 2008). It revived some of my concerns about health care.
All three of our Presidential aspirants are proclaiming a medical crisis and proposing the need for a new, Federal Government, controlled health plan. Each of them promises that their new, expensive for tax-payer, plan will solve all of the United States health problems, just as forty or so years of the Federal welfare bureaus and Education bureau have solved all of our problems of poverty, illegitimacy and education.
I have always wondered why people are willing to believe that clerks and petty bureaucrats living and working eight hour days and five day weeks (at least being paid to work those hours) in Washington D. C., will have a greater knowledge of and concern for the needs of those of us in the rest of the nation when they show so little ability to solve the problems in their own city, which has one of the worst records concerning education, poverty, crime and illegitimacy in the nation. But that is beside the point.
Has anyone noticed that when there is a shortage of something, the price is high? Conversely, when the product in demand is plentiful, the price is low. Gasoline is a good current example. I am also old enough to remember when television sets were new and extremely expensive. Working people had difficulty affording them. Currently, they are plentiful – and cheap. (This will change if February of 2009 when the government, our thoughtful government, changes the rules.)
Several years ago, I suggested that the cure for the high cost of medical care was to provide more medical doctors. I suggested at the time that doubling the number of medical schools in the nation, which the government could do, would greatly increase the number of practicing doctors and simultaneously reduce the costs. Another suggestion at the time was to reduce the requirements to enter medical school. Engineers and scientists do not require an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts to enter their professional schools, why do medical doctors? I fail to see how studying English literature, economics or geography helps a person to diagnose and cure measles. Of course this has not happened and no serious politician would even suggest such a thing, one reason being the medical lobby.
But despite the government’s failure to think of this obvious solution, capitalism has snuck in by the back door. Has anyone noticed the great increase in the number of physician assistants? Drug stores are experimenting with having physician assistants’ offices attached to their pharmacies. These professionals are perfectly qualified to handle the sinus infections, flu and tetanus shots and similar minor medical problems which currently crowd doctors’ offices. And they are much less expensive.
Of course this will not completely reduce unnecessary, taxpayer supported, services as illegal immigrants and welfare recipients will continue to receive free – to them – full service in hospitals, but it does reduce the cost of routine medical care to working Americans.