Bitter Medicine: Turning Lemons Into “Kool-Aid”

Universal health care proposals are lemons, that proponents try to turn into “kool-aid” for others to drink. But, the majority isn’t buying it, knowing their health care and pockets are endangered.

Those pushing for government-run universal health care coverage have tasted bitter medicine the past year, as in prior years, and likely for years to come. Although polls frequently show some willingness toward universal care ideas, other polls and voters at the ballot-box consistently have the majority rejecting themselves changing or being charged for others’ insurance, and recognizing universal care proposals are unaffordable further budget-busters that will impact other vital or desirable public services.

California, over 12% of the US population, under a pandering Republican governor and overwhelming majority Democrat legislature was thought to be heading the Massachusetts way, until the inconvenient fact of California’s $10-$14-billion budget deficit intruded, along with Democrat die-hards who felt it didn’t go far enough toward a single-payer government-run system. The Massachusetts experiment is heavily in the red, despite rosier budget predictions in launching it.

Yet, the San Diego Union-Tribune, front-pages the California Field poll as showing “strong support for the defeated proposal. The nonpartisan poll found that California's registered voters are increasingly worried about losing health coverage, having to pay more out-of-pocket costs for health care and losing access to quality doctors.”

That translates, according to the article, into “strong support for the major elements of a plan backed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles.”

The U-T article fails to report the words of the poll itself, that:

Voters skeptical about some elements of the health reform plan
Majorities of voters expressed some concerns with several elements of the health reform plan. For example, two in three voters (67%) agreed that the proposed new tax revenues designed to help the state pay for the costs of covering more people would not be enough to keep up with rising health care costs. In addition, 62% agreed that there were no real guarantees that the insurance policies which uninsured, moderate income people would be required to buy would have been affordable.

Nor does the U-T article report the national Gallup Poll results.

Despite ever-increasing healthcare costs and widespread dissatisfaction with the U.S. healthcare system, a majority of Americans remain satisfied with what they pay for their own healthcare, the quality of the healthcare they receive, and their healthcare coverage.

Gallup's annual Healthcare survey, conducted Nov. 11-14, finds 57% of Americans saying they are satisfied with the total cost they pay for their healthcare, while 39% are dissatisfied. These percentages have been quite stable in recent years, after a slight dip in reported satisfaction between 2001 (64%) and 2002 (58%)….

Americans are quite happy with their health plans. Eighty-three percent of Americans rate the quality of healthcare they receive as excellent or good, while only 15% say theirs is poor. Slightly less, 70%, say their healthcare coverage is excellent or good. These ratings have been fairly stable in the seven years in which Gallup's Healthcare survey has been conducted.

The National Institute For Health Care Management just released an analysis for “Understanding The Uninsured.” Twenty-two percent of the uninsured are non-citizens. Legal immigrants are supposed to be either self or sponsor-supported. Twenty-six percent of the uninsured are already eligible for public programs, but don’t avail themselves of them. Thirty-nine percent earn over 400% of the federal poverty guideline, and another thirty percent earn over 200%. If assets were included, the numbers would likely be larger. They, obviously, have other priorities for personal spending than responsibility for their own health insurance.

The NIHCM report recognizes that expanding government coverage to those above poverty levels displaces existing private insurance coverage for up to 60%. The report also recognizes that one of the major elements of universal care proposals, community rating which levels premiums across age groups, discourages “young adults [31% are uninsured] to purchase coverage without subsidizing costs for older, sicker enrollees.”

Universal health care proponents, even moreso single-payer government program proponents, can’t hide or mask the flavor of their “kool-aid” based on lemons. Most voters know better, even if some newspapers don’t or ignore the bitter taste – for others.

John McCain stands apart from Democrats on health care: No big government approaches.