Government-run health care would be a disaster. It would lead to a massive tax increase, with nothing to show for it. In fact, government-run health care would actually have negative effects.
It would increase bureaucracy and delays, it would drive up costs, and it would decrease the quality of care. It would drive some of the best medical professionals out of the field, and it would discourage talented young people from entering the field in the first place. Perhaps most of all, it would lead to a reduction in services offered. The resulting rationing of health care services would have devastating effects, especially on the poor and the elderly.
Yet, the Democratic Party – from my opponent Jim McDermott to Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton – favor government-run health care over reliance on free market solutions. McDermott in particular is one of the most extreme proponents of the government taking over health care. But the last thing we need is to follow the European path of government interference, bureaucracy, and massive taxation.
The priority in health care reform is putting individuals in more direct contact with providers, reducing the role of insurance companies, government regulators, employers, and attorneys. The current system, with heavy government and middleman involvement, is bureaucratic, inefficient, and a primary cause of rising health care costs.
I think Beren has it right on health care. I wish him the best as he seeks to help take back Congress for the good guys.
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