Government-run Healthcare

There is a lot of discussion about healthcare reform, healthcare insurance reform, socialism, and government-run healthcare.

It's frustrating that those opposed to it can get away with calling it one thing while those in favor call it another.

The most commonly proposed (and most likely to pass) legislation is not "government-run healthcare". I am strictly opposed to government-run healthcare, though I am in favor of healthcare insurance reform.

I think many people have difficulty separating their healthcare provider from their insurance provider, and for good reason. Many healthcare organizations indeed also serve as insurers. That said, they operate in a dichotomous situation -- the duty of insurers is to pay for a portion of the services a patient needs. The duty of the healthcare providers is to provide the services a patient needs. The difficulty is in determining what services a patient actually needs.

The popular notion is that patients currently are able to make this determination [and are fearful of losing this right]. This couldn't be further from the truth. In the current world, some healthcare providers provide more care/tests/medicine than a patient actually needs. The costs of excessive precaution do not go unpaid -- laws prevent the healthcare providers from billing these services to the patients if insurers deem them medically unnecessary, but then the healthcare organizations have no option but to swallow the extra cost. Is that fair? Absolutely.

Due to such tendencies, it is in the interest of the healthcare industry (and patients -- if you agree that insurance rates paid by patients are not likely to decline unless actual healthcare costs decline) to discourage excessive treatment.

I was inspired to write this by an ad posted by Google AdSense on this very blog. The ad says you should sign a petition to stop government-run healthcare. While I am very much opposed to government-run healthcare, I do not recommend signing this petition. The petition, in spite of its agreeable proclamation, will be used instead in an attempt to stymie healthcare insurance reform.