Robin Cox – 5/14/09

This page was last updated on June 1, 2009.

Let liberty be basis of health-care bill; Robin Cox; Beaver County Times; May 14, 2009.

This is the second letter in a row where the Times messed up the title. When you read the letter, it’s clear I made a free-market proposal to take the place of a healthcare bill. The title implies otherwise.

Even worse, the Times made a small but potentially significant transcription error in my letter.

As published, my letter referred to a “healthcare insurance-provider company.” I suspect a lot of people would read that to mean the proposed company would provide only healthcare insurance, not the healthcare itself.

As you can see below, the letter I submitted said “healthcare insurance/provider company.” Consistent with my previous use of “healthcare insurer/provider” in the letter, I meant the company would be both the healthcare insurer and healthcare provider, just as the federal government would be both the healthcare insurer and de facto healthcare provider under HR 676. In retrospect, I should have written “healthcare insurance and healthcare provider company” instead of the “shorthand” version.

Please read my paper entitled “Healthcare.”

Below is a copy of the letter as I submitted it.

Title: HR 676 vs. liberty

In her letter “Time to get behind health-care reform,” author Sherry Allen encouraged us to support HR 676, a taxpayer-funded, government-run healthcare monopoly.

Instead of forcing a healthcare insurer/provider on us via HR 676, why not use an approach based on liberty? I propose HR 676 supporters form a nonprofit, private, integrated healthcare insurance/provider company based on the current bill plus how they describe it. The only differences would be the company would be not be government run, participation would be voluntary, and company customers would provide the revenue via premiums, not taxpayers. If all HR 676 supporters promise (everything 100% covered w/o restriction, highest quality, inexpensive, timely service, et cetera) turns out to be true, the company would be a wild success, customers would flock to the new company, and HR 676 supporters would get what they say they want.

If HR 676 supporters insist their taxpayer-funded, government-run healthcare monopoly must be forced on us, doesn’t that tell us a lot?

For your entertainment and as a teaching exercise, below you’ll find the reader comments visible on the Times website at the time I published this critique. They’ll give you an idea of the quality and tenor of some of the comments I receive via e-mail regarding my website’s critiques. I generally don’t publish the contents of e-mail I receive from critics because the sender may consider the message private and I don’t want to embarrass the author.

Without getting into a blow-by-blow critique of all of the comments below (There are too many.), here’s a partial list of observations.

· All but a couple of the contributors hid behind screen handles. Why?

· One poor soul referred to my letter as “a selfishly short-sighted social Darwinist rant.” If you’re familiar with this person’s body of work, you know his definition of “rant” is anything with which he disagrees. The rest of his comment was of comparable quality.

This commenter also wrote, “I’ve read your other Times letters and comments and am aware of your rightwing worldview.” A couple of months ago when I noted a consistent topic of letters by one of his fellow travelers, he said this “could be misinterpreted by some as an unhealthy obsession, or, at best, a dumb waste of time and energy.” Hmm, I hope his glass house at least uses tempered glass.

· William G. Horter asked, “Mr Cox, how far are you prepared to take this ‘liberty’ idea? To the fire department? To the police? To our vast road system as well? How about the Army that is supposedly [sic] there to protect the homeland?”

How far am I “prepared to take this ‘liberty’ idea?” I’d like to say as far as our country’s Founding Fathers, but I’m not in their class. Since when did Americans have to justify their belief in liberty?

As for the rest of the question and letter, Mr. Horter is a bit disingenuous. Mr. Horter has raised these comments/examples before and I’ve shown them to be bogus. Does Mr. Horter not realize that for all of the organizations he listed, membership is voluntary? Indeed, the fire department providing protection for Mr. Horter’s home is the Daugherty Township Volunteer Fire Department!

Regarding “our vast road system,” here’s how I replied when Mr. Horter raised this point via e-mail in early 2008: “I don't believe roads and sewers are good comparisons to healthcare. After all, there are physical reasons why it makes sense for government or quasi government agencies to deal with items like these. In any case, we constantly read about road/bridge neglect and failing sewer systems. Alcosan is one local example. More appropriate comparisons would be education, mass transit (BCTA, PAT, etc.), and public housing. No matter how much money we throw at these programs it's never enough. Why would a socialized healthcare system be different?”

In another comment, Mr. Horter wrote “a proposal has already been put forth to do almost exactly what Mr Cox proposes, set up a government run (not for profit) alternative to the present Insurance Company monopoly. The Insurance Companies were aghast at the mere mention of that!” First, anything that is “government run” can’t be “almost exactly” what I proposed. Second what is “the present Insurance Company monopoly?” There are many healthcare insurance companies plus government run programs like Medicaid, Medicare, SCHIP, PACE, et cetera. Finally, any business should be “aghast” at the mention of a government-run operation in their industry. There’s no way to compete with a business when that business has the power to “rig the game” in its favor.

In his final comment, Mr. Horter claimed he was “trying to have a reasonable dialogue with people.” This is the same guy who asserted I “lack of empathy for those in our society” and in other threads on this topic implied I’m not very smart because I don’t agree with him. Yeah, that’s a “reasonable dialogue.”

Of course, it’s not a Horter comment without some personal attacks.

· One reliably leftist contributor appears to believe the lack of a government-run, taxpayer-funded healthcare monopoly is what’s really behind the problems at Chrysler, Ford, and GM. You won’t be surprised to learn I’ve heard labor union management make the same claim during various interviews. This contributor also believes we have a “broken unregulated economy.”

W Horter wrote on May 22, 2009 3:15 PM:

" Atila , first of all, I'm not "yapping", I'm trying to have a reasonable dialogue with people. The fact that you are getting seemingly steamed, says to me, you are losing the debate? I expressed no desire to go to Canada, but it is a fact that Canadiens enjoy their healthcare , some 80+ percent are cool with it, and no politician runs on a "private insurance" platform!.

But seriously, why are you so willing to pay so much, and get so little? 17.5% of GDP vs. 10 or 12% od GDP is a ton of money, let alone the fact that everyone has healthcare in Canada, or England, of Japan, the list is almost endless. You could be the next one to go bankrupt as well, no one goes bankrupt in Canada from healthcare bills. Half of our bankruptcies are from healthcare bills.

But why do you advocate spending all that money? "

Atila wrote on May 17, 2009 9:07 AM:

" Horter,

You are very mistaken, a single payer system would do great harm to the medical field. You want to go live in Canada, go ahead, it's not what you think. I have family there and if you need an operation you are on a waiting list. How would you feel if a family member of your's that needed immediate surgerical intervention was told they would have to wait? Enjoy your Medicare and quit yapping! "

W Horter wrote on May 17, 2009 8:45 AM:

" One thing I forgot to mention, a proposal has already been put forth to do almost exactly what Mr Cox proposes, set up a government run (not for profit) alternative to the present Insurance Company monopoly. The Insurance Companies were aghast at the mere mention of that!

But really, the idea that such a system of non profit needs to be further "tested", is sort of silly. It has been tested, all over this Earth, more than 80% of the Canadien people love their healthcare, and so it is with almost any country where healthcare is Universal. Yes, wildly popular!

Time to "get er done!" "

W Horter wrote on May 17, 2009 1:23 AM:

" CenterTrojanENZ, no, it is you who is missing "the point". You talk as if the idea of 676 is something never tried before. Sorry to be the one to tell you, it is being done all over this Earth, in almost every modern industrial country but this one. And it works, it delivers healthcare to all people for less.

Single payer, not for profit healthcare works. Time to get on with it. "

keysmann wrote on May 16, 2009 9:07 PM:

" So you want the same government that is sending $250 stimulus checks to people that have been dead for 35 years? Just reported yesterday. And apparently there are more being reported all over the U.S. of A. They bankrupted Social Security and Medicare because they couldn't keep their grubby little thieving hands off of the money. Both parties that is. You gave them the money to bailout the car companies to keep them from going bankrupt. That went well didn't it? You gave $800 billion to bailout Wall Street and the economy and the job market keeps getting worse. You have a Speaker of the House that keeps lying even though she knows everyone she is lying to knows she is lying. THIS is who you want running "your" health care? Enjoy y'all. "

hs wrote on May 16, 2009 11:21 AM:

" Horter

When you bring something new to the table, then you can rebut my posts.

I have said time and time our healthcare system needs changed but for some reason you act like I am in favor of our "todays'" healthcare system

I have even come in here and agreed with your numbers and said it is insurance that is destroying our system. When we are charged $20 for a band aid and $20,000 for an x-ray something is wrong. The reason is the people who pay are paying for the people who dont and that also has to change. "

Lock wrote on May 15, 2009 4:31 PM:

" JimD: Pfizer recently announced a program for the newly unemployed. They provide free scripts on certain meds for a year. Look over the info,

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/business/2009/may/Pfizer-to-Provide-Free-Prescription-Drugs.html#0 "

Lock wrote on May 15, 2009 4:18 PM:

" larue: You ask who is denied healthcare in this country? The answer is the 47 million Americans who have no coverage. Your presumption that an uninsured person gets the same diagnostics and comprehensive treatment for catastrophic injury or disease as a person with coverage would be a nice thing if it was true, but it’s not. If it was that easy to get care without coverage then no one would bother paying premiums.

The uninsured receive less preventive care, are diagnosed at more advanced disease stages, and once diagnosed they receive less therapeutic care and have HIGHER MORTALITY RATES than insured individuals. It’s a statistical fact: you die younger if you’re not covered. That sounds like a situation that might exist in some backward, destitute, third-world country, doesn’t it. Shouldn’t we do better?

I’m covered, so I’m lucky. What I don’t get are people who argue that others shouldn’t somehow be covered too. "

JimD wrote on May 15, 2009 12:46 PM:

" Larue

You ask who is denied? Well I can can tell you, my wife and I. She had 30yrs at Aliqippa Hospital when it closed we lost coverage. We are not eligiable for COBRA since the hospital closed. She has diabetes and takes a pill once a day but all companies have turned us down due to pre-existing conditions. My employer does not offer healthcare benifits and I make too much for welfare or PA Basic coverage. "

shameful wrote on May 15, 2009 10:20 AM:

" Health Care in america needs intervention. Something needs to change. I have no problems with a govenment run health care program, but the structure of that program really needs to be right. Have you ever noticed your health care bill when it comes, how your doctor will have this huge bill for a 5 minute visit or how an outpatient procedure costs $10,000? The costs are inflated and the health care provider gives them what they feel the service is worth. Truthfully, I would pay for simple doctors visits out of pocket if the cost reflected the service. I would pay higher deductibles if the services were cheaper and that deductible would cover all simple visits for preventative measures. This is why health care is such a mess. The cost never reflects the service and because of it, we end up with either higher premiums or "managed" plans. "

larue wrote on May 15, 2009 7:54 AM:

" Lock: Who doesn't get healthcare in this country??? There are programs for people who can't afford health insurance, but as far as health care....who is denied? "

southern beaver countian wrote on May 15, 2009 6:57 AM:

" Does anyone think that GM, Ford, and Chrysler would be in the same dour position if they could compete with their foreign rivals without the huge medical costs of their employees?

Our system is broken. One in five Americans are uninsured and millions more under-insured. And those with employee provided health insurance are either loosing it or paying more and more for it themselves.

And as I look around the world, I see universal health care in nation after nation. And please, don't tell me about your uncles, great aunt's son in law who couldn't get medical treatment in Canada and had to come here for it. The senior citizens I see are GOING to Canada and Mexico for prescription drugs and affordable treatments.

This is not a Dem-Rep issue per se. I will vote for and actively support those who campaign for an overhaul of our broken health care system, and our broken unregulated economy.

You are free to join me, or you are free to oppose my views. But I believe real reform is in the air. "

CenterTrojanENZ wrote on May 14, 2009 6:44 PM:

" Horter, you miss the point. What Robbin' Cox is saying is this. The proponents of HR 676 say that it will create a system that is cheaper and better in every way.

If that is the case then it should thrive as a standalone business. After all, it will save so much money, there would not be a need for government subsidy, eh?

But instead, people want to shove this idea up, uh, er, I mean down people's throats and have the government fund it all.

Now O'bama is even talking about taxing peoples employee health care benefits, an idea that when McCain proposed it, he was vilified by O'bama.

Feed at the trough while you can. The out-of-control left wing spending spree going on is sowing the seeds of the next '94 revolution. "

sdecouto wrote on May 14, 2009 6:21 PM:

" When did people stop being responsible for themselves? Where I work, they changed my coverage, If I dont like it, I can quit and find someone else with better coverage or get my own. Lock, I'm pleased to see your well aware of Cox's right wing views, It's a nice contrast to your left wing views. I am alway responsible for myself.

If the rest of the world thought like that we wouldnt have near the problems that we have when the everyonen fells like we owe them everything. "

W Horter wrote on May 14, 2009 4:54 PM:

" hs, the main problem now is administration costs. How about 33% and those costs in a really modern system, a national not for profit one, are less than 2% in Tiawan. Less than 3% in Medicare.

Along with the elephant in the room, the 17.5% of Gdp, which is now 1/6th of our GDP, I held out hope that Mr Cox would finally see the logic of it all. But 676 won't be the provider of healthcare, the providers are already in place, there is little we could improve there as to our well trained Doctors and Nurses. And those well trained and nicely educated people, the vast majority, ere educated in our public schools, so I fail to see what gt24 is talking about. I've said this before, I have six well educated children of my own, four more are "step-children" and all are college trained in something or other. 3 nurses, an electrician who got some of his training at CCBC, my oldest son has his own business that doesn't have anything to do with his CCBC training, but he used that to step up into where he is today. "

Robin Cox wrote on May 14, 2009 2:56 PM:

" The Times made a small but potentially significant transcription error in my letter.

The letter I submitted said “healthcare insurance/provider company.” Consistent with my previous use of “healthcare insurer/provider” in the letter, I meant the company would be both the healthcare insurer and healthcare provider, just as the federal government would be both the healthcare insurer and de facto healthcare provider under HR 676. In retrospect, I should have written “healthcare insurance and healthcare provider company” instead of the “shorthand” version. "

Lock wrote on May 14, 2009 1:13 PM:

" Cox: For the record, I’ve read your other Times letters and comments and am aware of your rightwing worldview, so I’m not, like Horter, disappointed by this letter. Who would expect anything other than a selfishly short-sighted social Darwinist rant, passed as an actual idea, from your side. And just for your info, I don’t share Horter’s mind’s eye view of you on a higher pedestal.

Anyhow, stash the crackpot conservative fantasies on who deserves and who doesn’t deserve healthcare in a civilized society. Wingers can like it or not but Universal Healthcare is coming, gradually maybe, but surely. "

gt24 wrote on May 14, 2009 11:21 AM:

" Oh wait, I left out those who are blindly following the republican party.. they are playing the same game... take our money and spend it to give themselves more power and more money. The republicans chose to do it in the business world, the democrats do it with social engineering. "

gt24 wrote on May 14, 2009 11:19 AM:

" Education and Health-care you say Horter... Well, government sure is doing a bang up job of educating the masses. Cant wait for them f up health-care as well. Oh wait, they already have, by forcing hosptals to care for those who do not pay their bills, they put hospitals like Aliquippa out of business. How can loyal democrats of our county ( retired anf fired millworkers ) continue to blindly follow the party's mantra when it leads to the closure and boarding up of the neighborhoods they grew up in, the closing of their hospital, and soon the cutting back of their SSI benefits ????? "

hs wrote on May 14, 2009 11:03 AM:

" Personal responsibility needs to be a part of our "new" healthcare system.

If everything is 100% covered, it will never survive and thrive. If I want to get a physical, checked for a cold or flu, flu shot or any other minor treatment, it should be an out of pocket expense. Insurance companies should not have to cover these costs.

The main problems now are insurance rates and unnecessary procedures thaty are way overpriced. Insurance can't handle these cost and neither can the govt

A poll was done recently and most people who support a govt healthcare system are either on Medicare or govt assistance. They think everything is going great with their coverage. Once they pull their head out of the sand they will notice Medicare is going bankrupt and the govt doesn't have any answers. "

W Horter wrote on May 14, 2009 9:01 AM:

" Mr Cox, how far are you prepared to take this 'liberty" idea? To the fire department? To the police? To our vast road system as well? How about the Army that is supposidly there to protect the homeland?

The government was partly allowed, (by the constitution) to "promote the general welfare". I can think of no more honorable action for government, than education or healthcare for all citizens.

Frankly, your lack of empathy for those in our society really disapoints me. In my minds eye, I had you on a higher pedestal.

Private, for profit Health Insurance Companies, have been a spectacular failure, as to cost and coverage. Time for new ideas. This is done all over this Earth,this idea of HR 676 is not new, but it has proven very sound in many countries. Let's get on with it.

It is past time to decide a persons worth in our society, beyond the size of his or her wallet. "