Social Justice, The Faith and Health Care
Once again, sorry for the delay in posting but life happens. Today, we continue looking at the issues typically embraced by “social justice warriors” (SJW) and health care is on the periphery of that sphere of concerns.
Leading up to the Affordable Care Act (i.e., ACA or “Obamacare”), I witnessed many SJW’s champion socialized medicine. Since, the enactment of the ACA, many SJWs have continued to push for a Canadian model. Yet, even progressives like T.R. Reid in his book “The Healing of America,” acknowledge that Canada’s health care system has serious problems. Reid confronted government officials about the long waiting lines for what Canada calls “elective treatment,” and one of those bureaucrats responded that our neighbors up north didn’t mind because both rich and poor had to wait the same amount of time. In other words, as long as everyone suffers, everyone is happy?
Reid contends the reason America’s health care system is so expensive is that our administrative costs are too high. He is right but he doesn’t do a thorough job of explaining why they are out of control.
The reason is simple—government regulation. When I worked on Capitol Hill, I met doctor after doctor from across the country who said the same thing, “I had to hire several full-time employees just to complete government paperwork and I had to pass on that cost to my patients!”
Moreover, Reid and other progressives also like to quote how many Americans were uninsured before Obamacare but they do a poor job of explaining why. The overwhelming majority of those without health care were either immigrants or young, healthy professionals making more than $70,000 a year and simply choosing not to snag health insurance! This does not equate crisis by any measure.
Furthermore, it is also important to note that one of the primary reasons prescription drugs are so expensive in the U.S. and so cheap overseas is that we pay for the research and development that go into creating those drugs while most countries simply ignore trademarks, rip off the formula and produce generic versions. Thus, we can have cheaper prescriptions but no innovation in the future or we can pay for important research that may grant longer, happier lives. It is your choice!
As a Christian, I empathize with anyone who needs health care. It is important to remember that Christians were responsible for creating the modern hospital. Yet, as believers we are called to exercise wisdom. If the numbers clearly demonstrate that health care costs are high because of government overregulation, then SJW, the answer is simple—repeal the regulations, suck it up and pay for research & development that we all want and quit calling a crisis that which is certainly not a crisis!