National Health Reform: Contra

If you're like many students at Messiah, you've probably heard about the Obama healthcare plan, which has been largely publicized during the last couple of months. And if you fall into this category, then you probably also agree with the majority that you haven't been paying attention to it. And if you fall into a select minority of students, you haven't heard of this debate. Don't feel bad. That's why I wrote this article. Obama's healthcare plan requires healthcare for everyone: be it young or old, sick or healthy. Instead of healthcare coming from only private insurers, the government intends to step in and provide coverage as well. While this concept is new to the United States, it is common throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada. You might also find one surprising fact about it that Obama has not mentioned: it's a failure.

In his speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night, Obama outlined the goals of his healthcare plan. He proposed an "end to the bickering" and claimed he is willing to work with both sides to ensure the good of the country.

"Now's the time to act, and I will not permit reform to be postponed or imperiled by the usual ideological diversions," Obama said.

In addition to the $787 billion already wasted on his failed stimulus package, Obama intends to spend money the US does not have: $900 billion on a plan that half of the nation opposes.

Healthcare makes up one sixth of the economy. Under Obama's leadership, the government will own this and then, he promises, once things are stable again, the government will retreat. But history has shown that once the government gets its hands into something, nothing that can get them out. Example: Income tax. It's an unpopular norm in today's society, although it was never supposed to be. Income tax originated in the 1860s to pay for the Civil War; after the war ended, it was supposed to disappear. Another example involves the Pennsylvania turnpike. The tolls for the turnpike were there to help pay for the construction and then they, too, were supposed to go. However, as all of us can see, we still pay income tax; we still pay tolls.

In addition, anything the government gets involved in tends to go bankrupt. We've seen this repeated as well; Social Security, Medicare, Post Office, and most recently, car dealerships. Can we really afford healthcare to go bankrupt? Obama would call a question like this a "scare tactic," but he will not admit that there is a true power struggle going on behind the scenes. To hide this, he must repeatedly change his story. He now says that he wants competition among the private insurers and the government. However, back in 2007, when he was a senatorial candidate, he said his goal was to have a single-payer system by the end of his first term. Only after the outrage voiced by Republicans and citizens did he back down.

Obama likes to spout numbers in his speeches. It gives him an air of credibility. For instance, he tells us that 47 million Americans are not covered by healthcare. Awful reality? Not quite. 17 million of these are illegal immigrants who should not be insured anyway. Once Obama realized the outcry this would cause, he promptly changed that number to 30 million. Awful reality once again? Not quite. Let's take a look:

Under Obama's health plan, people do not choose; they get healthcare or else they are fined $1,800-$3,000 a year. Part of the 30 million may be people like you or me: college students. Many of these students are relatively healthy, so while they're struggling to pay for textbooks, they'd rather put off paying for healthcare until they have graduated and have a family to take care of. Under today's plan, they are not penalized for their decision. Under Obama's healthcare plan, they would be.

Now let's say it's next year. Obama's healthcare plan has passed, as has his request for amnesty. 30 million people who did not have insurance in 2009 suddenly do. However, the number of doctors has not increased with the number of patients. Therefore, an estimate of 500 more people now go to the same doctor you do. If you enjoy spending hours in the waiting room, this is the plan for you. If you enjoy waiting an extra week just to see your doctor, consider yourself a supporter.

Because of the overabundance of patients, supplies and resources are short as well. The government cannot save everybody, so care must be rationed. This means that if the government has to choose between saving a 30 year old man or an ailing 80 year old woman who might die in the next month, the elderly woman will be refused the care she needs.

One last fact: members of Congress are exempt from Obama's plan. If this plan is the savior of the system, then why isn't Congress the first to jump on the band wagon?