Higher insurance costs, fewer doctors, fewer hospitals, more bureaucracy -well we are finding out what’s in it-reform’s nasty surprises

April 14, 2010 05:51


Many thought Nancy Pelosi was joking when she said, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” But the more we learn about her 2,400-page horror, the more we realize the joke’s on us. Another few months of this, and repeal may not be an option, but a necessity.

Reform’s Nasty Little Surprises

From IBD Editorials

Health Overhaul: Many thought Nancy Pelosi was joking when she said, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” But the more we learn about her 2,400-page horror, the more we realize the joke’s on us.

Barely a day goes by without some new revelation of what the health care bill contains — and how its provisions are already starting to hurt millions of people. The overhaul has already begun tearing down our old health care system — the best in the world — and replacing it with something mediocre, bureaucratic, costly and even dangerous.

Here’s just a sample of how, as the speaker of the House put it, we’re now “finding out what’s in it”:

• Despite promises that ObamaCare would cut costs for average Americans, we now see a front-page headline in the Los Angeles Times that tells us “Health care overhaul won’t stop premium increases.” Why? “Although Democrats promised greater consumer protection, the overhaul does not give the federal government broad regulatory power to prevent increases.”

If it did, the health insurance industry would soon go the way of the Dodo bird. Contrary to overhaul supporters’ propaganda, the industry’s profit margin is tiny — just 3.5% of sales. Premiums are rising not because of insurers’ greed, but due to higher health care costs driven by out-of-control government spending, which is growing twice as fast as the private sector.

• An IBD/TIPP Poll last summer showed that as many as 45% of practicing physicians would consider retiring or giving up their practice if ObamaCare was passed. That’s bad enough. Now comes this tidbit from the Wall Street Journal: “At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.”

It’s no surprise that fewer smart, talented, driven people want to become doctors. Why should they? To face an endless barrage of bureaucratic paperwork? To be second-guessed on every procedure they perform or prescription they write? To have their incomes capped forever?

Government already makes up half the $2.5 trillion spent last year on health care. What reasonable person would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on schooling and more than a decade on training just to work for a government bureaucracy? The answer is obvious. And the numbers show it.

• Along with fewer doctors, we’re now about to see fewer hospitals — all thanks to ObamaCare. The new law essentially forbids doctor-owned hospitals from expanding, and makes it nearly impossible for doctors to open new hospitals.

FULL STORY



Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere: