So If the Public Option is Off the Table, What are We Talking About?

Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebilius, said that a public option is not a necessary part of the health care reform being pushed by the administration. Considering the plans before the House and Senate all include that option it seems like a bit of a headfake. "Oh, we weren't pushing it, but since it's there..." So what remains? President Obama is still intent on controlling costs and expanding coverage. So the only way to do the former is...........wait, it will come to me.....price controls outside of the reform package. Maybe the Pay Czar can dictate what doctors make and how much hospital administrators can make. After all, this administration has consistently shown itself to be anti-capitalist. The only way to expand coverage is to regulate who the insurance industry is allowed to write policies for and under what conditions, i.e., more regulation.

Is it illogical to conclude that the fascist option is what's on the table? Like the new FDA run tobacco industry, fascism is where government dictates business policies while the businesses remain in the hands of private individuals. Similarly, the logical next step, and indeed, consistent with the policies we are aware of, government would simply dictate all aspects of the helath insurance industry while leaving it in private hands. The bills already seek to limit the amount of deductibles. So that health care savings plan you have would not work because the deductible is too high, and catastrophic coverage would be a thing of the past as we force the insurance companies must take care of every contingency including routine checkups that would cost less to pay out of pocket than the premium.

Look, from an economic perspective, additional insurance will drive up cost. Increasing the number of insured only guarantees that prices and costs will go up. I believe the solution must be to deregulate the insurance industry. If anything, let's encourage purchases of catastrophic care policies rather than maintenance programs that pay for you to go to the doctor for every sniffle or sneeze. Let's increase the number of physicians to expand availability of care. Let's not let government do what it has done with every social welfare movement in history, create a class of people dependent upon government.