So we are getting closer and closer to the government mandating and redistributing health care insurance. And based on all the reporting going on it sounds like the only sticking point is a government option or no government option. What I want to hear about is how will this save me money? How will it decrease the rising cost of health care?

I haven't heard a whole lot of explanations about that; have you? So far I gather this from the Democrats.

1. The government will reduce the cost of Medicare/Medicaid by reducing the amount they will pay for a service by 20 percent. - So this isn't really lowering the operating expenses. It isn't creating more choice and competition, things that usually drive prices down. No this is a government regulated fee schedule. Can you say rent control? Can you say price fixing? How well do those work? Not very. Usually pricefixing has the opposite affect. It tends to drive people out of business thus reducing choice and limiting just who is willing to provide the service.

2. The government will reduce the cost of insurance by spreading payments out among all citizens. - This is the reason for the mandatory insurance. In order to reduce the overall risk for the insurance companies you increase the pool of payers. And if you increase the pool of payers then you can reduce the amount each individual pays. At least that is the theory. In California, every driver is required to have automotive liability insurance. Atleast that is the law. The insurance companies said it would help to reduce the cost of insurance. Instead, the insurance company would sell first time insurance buyers, or buyers who had let their insurance lapse, an outrageously high amount for the first year of coverage. Why? Because you had no choice. You have to buy insurance and the insurance companies will fleece you as much as they can until you are in a position to shop for a better price. Then they will give you adiscount to try and keep you as a customer. Oh and that has also created a large group of people who do not have insurance and are driving essentially illegally. So many in fact that the state doesn't really bother going after them. Sure you will get fined if you are caught, maybe. But many of the people that do not pay are low income so the courts usually let them off.

3. The government will implement new taxes on insurance companies and medical companies to help pay for the insurance. - So let me get this straight. You will tax the companies I buy my medical coverage and medical services from to make my medical bills less. Isn't that a whole lot like robbing Peter to pay Paul? I mean if you are taking money away from these industries don't you think they will raise their prices to compensate? One thing is certain. They will adjust their services or their pricing to cover any loss they have from an increase in taxes. That is the way it always works. The socialist in the Democratic party always think that markets and consumers will always maintain business as usual when they raise taxes when history proves that each will adjust to compensate for the increase in price created by a new tax.

What you will not hear about from the Democrats is the following:

1. Allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines. - Plain and simple, you open the markets and reduce regulations and prices go down. When you create artificial barriers and regulations to limit a persons choices then prices go up. It happens in every industry as regular as clock work. But President Obama and the Democrats oppose such radical ideas. Why? Because less regulations means they have less say in our lives. Because stateswith high taxes and excessive regulations will lose out to states that have lower taxes and fewer regulations. In other words, states that are under the domination of the Democratic party will lose business to states that are run mostly by Republicans. Democrats do not like to share power and they certainly don't like to lose money to Republican states.

2. Tort reform. - Oh, sure President Obama and the Democrats have paid lip service to tort reform but that is only when they are trying to sell reluctant moderates and conservatives on their socialist program. But they are not really serious about tort reform. Why? Because trial lawyers are one of the top donors to the Democratic party. The Democrats do not want to lose all the money they get for their campaigns.

3. Allow small businesses to join together to buy insurance as a group. - Insurance companies give hefty discounts to large companies and organizations. But small businesses are on their own and when they negotiate for health benefits for their employees, they are at a disadvantage and pay through the nose. If they could pool together they could negotiate much better deals that would lower the price to their employees. So why are the Democrats reluctantto support such an idea? Because when it comes down to it. Democrats are socialist and they want the government to control health care. They want a government option. Basically they want to force all small businesses to have to come to them for insurance coverage. This would then give the government more leverage over small businesses. It creates new dependencies that the socialist love.

You see, there are ideas that can be implemented to make medical insurance more affordable. Ideas that do not require new government agencies or an 800+ billion dollar plan. There are things that can be done with a stroke of a pen and little money involved that could increase choices and reduce the cost of medical insurance.

I would also add the following for good measure:

1. Let hospital emergency rooms refuse to treat non-paying patients that do not have a serious or life threatening condition. I know that the Republicans will not have the guts to suggest this. But everyone knows that people are playing the system by using the emergency room for regular ailments. And we all know that the cost of these visits are passed on to those people who do have insurance.

- Thomas Paine 2

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