Gino Piroli – 10/13/09

This page was last updated on October 14, 2009.

Take another look at health-care reform opponents; Gino Piroli; Beaver County Times; October 13, 2009.

For whatever reason, the version of this column published on the Times website differs from the one that appeared in print. I highlighted below the differences. The portions in bold red were not in the print version.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject column.

“Tom Brokaw called my age group ‘The Greatest Generation,’ something that’s debatable. Many are no longer with us and it seems that the recent actions and self-interests of some surviving members appear to be working to have that changed to ‘The Greediest Generation.’ I don’t think that’s debatable.”

[RWC] Since Mr. Piroli went on a two-and-a-half year hiatus, this is the first Piroli column I’ve critiqued since his column of March 19, 2007.

Note Mr. Piroli sets up the straw man that those who oppose his idea of “reform” are “health-care reform opponents.”

Please read my paper entitled “Healthcare.”

“A recent New York Times article is centered on what they describe as ‘a heated debate over health care that divides generations in AARP, the organization for those 50 or over.’

“The Times had this to say: ‘AARP has 40 million members, split almost evenly between those who have access to Medicare and those who are too young for such benefits. Members 65 and older get among the most secure medical benefits in the country and many are in no mood to share with those less fortunate. Thousands of the older members have dropped out in protest to giving Americans a choice of getting the same coverage as they do. David Certner, director of legislative policy for AARP, said one out of every four 60-year-olds can not [sic] get health insurance. Many of them have told Mr. Certner that they can’t wait until they are 65 and get Medicare.’

“I dropped out of AARP a few years ago because ~~they~~ it didn’t oppose the Medicare Part D plan conceived by the previous administration and Congress for a prescription drug program whose costs are determined by the drug companies. It is one of the most costly government programs we have.”

[RWC] I also opposed Part D because I don’t believe in Medicare at all. Providing one’s healthcare is a personal responsibility, not a government responsibility. As for Mr. Piroli’s true reason for opposing Part D, who knows? Mr. Piroli implies his reason is cost, but he is a vigorous supporter of Medicare and Socialist Security, the most costly programs we have and they are fiscally unsustainable.

“It didn’t affect me because I belong to the federal health plan which, like the Veterans Administration’s program, negotiates the cost of drugs. The savings are such that we were advised not to enroll in Medicare Part D.”

[RWC] This is a bur under Mr. Piroli’s saddle. It’s at least the fourth time he’s made this complaint. Assuming Mr. Piroli is correct, he means the price of the drugs is negotiated, not the cost to manufacture them.

As for Medicare negotiating a price, a government program this large doesn’t negotiate. It sets the price it will pay and thus amounts to nothing more than coercion. That’s what happened with the flu vaccine during the Clinton years and the result was to kill the U.S. flu vaccine industry. To make up for the revenue lost to Medicare, those of us not on Medicare would have to pay higher prices. This is one reason why drugs made and sold in the U.S. have higher prices here than in countries like Canada. Foreign countries don’t “negotiate” drug prices. When countries “negotiate,” they make it clear you either accept their offer or they will remove patent protection for your drug. That’s not negotiating; that’s blackmail.

“Why, except for negative publicity, self-interest or partisan politics, would anyone be against providing health coverage for all Americans? I’m not sure what the new program will be, but it’s needed.”

[RWC] Mr. Piroli is arguing against his bogus straw man that opponents to his idea of “reform” are “against providing health coverage for all Americans.” That’s easier than trying to debate the issues as in my paper entitled “Healthcare.”

Also note the comment about “partisan politics.” Has Mr. Piroli read his own columns, including this one?

“Worldwide we rank first in cost and 34th in health care, below Costa Rica.”

[RWC] Mr. Piroli doesn’t cite the source of his data so I don’t know if it’s based on an apples-to-apples comparison, but I have my suspicions. Even if the ranking were valid, is our goal to provide the best healthcare for the most people or to minimize cost? Contrary to what promoters of a government-run healthcare monopoly claim, these are mutually exclusive goals. In operations research parlance, these claims represent an infeasible solution.

“Medicare is a successful government program; ask any senior if they would give it up, especially since it’s been announced that Medicare premiums will not rise this coming year.

[RWC] “Medicare is a successful government program?” Given the Medicare Trustees report Medicare is already in deficit (outlays exceed Medicare tax revenue) and will be broke in 2017, I don’t share Mr. Piroli’s definition of “successful.”

As for asking “any senior if they would give it up,” of course they will say “no.” After all, since the government confiscated a chunk of their income for Medicare taxes for many years, they are now dependent on the program and could in no way afford to pay for their own healthcare out of their own pockets. It would be like pulling the rug out from under them.

“Most of ~~those~~ the people opposed to any type of change have coverage. Seniors have Medicare as their primary insurer and a supplemental plan. All those with coverage should know that the costs for these supplemental plans keep rising. Those that have Security Blue have been informed that their premiums will increase ~~$50~~ $38 per person per month next year.”

“My federal plan has gone up more than 100 percent in the past seven years and that is true of most plans with businesses large and small. They are experiencing rising costs that have made it mandatory that they either reduce benefits, have greater employee premium payments or just drop all coverage.

“There’s also an untruth used by many reform opponents that should be refuted: The U.S. Postal Service, which is suffering huge losses, uses almost no tax money and is not managed by the government.”

[RWC] President Obama himself pointed out the USPS is a government agency during a Q&A in a failed attempt to support his desire for a government-run healthcare monopoly.

I don’t know what linguistic hairsplitting Mr. Piroli is trying, but the USPS is definitely a government agency. In fact, it is one of the few federal government entities explicitly enumerated in the Constitution: “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 7). Mr. Piroli is a former Aliquippa postmaster so he should know better.

“In closing, let me pay tribute to a recently departed friend who was definitely from ‘The Greatest Generation’: Don Miller.

“We worked together in many civic organizations and enjoyed the fact that we were married on the same day, June 25, 1949. He and his late wife, Joan, were married in Denver, and my wife and I were married at St. Titus in Aliquippa.

“He was one of the original owners of Miller and Sons Chevrolet in Aliquippa and was an avid supporter of many worthy causes in his adopted town and county, especially the B.F. Jones Memorial Library.”

[RWC] At least Mr. Piroli and I can agree on one thing. The Millers were good people. I knew them via their sons who, along with my brothers and me, were altar boys at St. Francis Cabrini.