More
Government Won't Help
By Ron Paul
View all
59 articles by Ron Paul
Published 09/24/09
Printer-friendly version
Statement before the United States House of Representatives,
September 23, 2009
Government has been mismanaging medical care for more than 45 years; for
every problem it has created it has responded by exponentially
expanding the role of government.
Points to consider:
1.) No one has a right to medical care. If one assumes such a right,
it endorses the notion that some individuals have a right to someone
else’s life and property. This totally contradicts the principles of
liberty.
2.) If medical care is provided by government, this can only be
achieved by an authoritarian government unconcerned about the rights of
the individual.
3.) Economic fallacies accepted for more than 100 years in the United
States has deceived policy makers into believing that quality medical
care can only be achieved by government force, taxation, regulations,
and bowing to a system of special interests that creates a system of
corporatism.
4.) More dollars into any monopoly run by government never increases
quality but it always results in higher costs and prices.
5.) Government does have an important role to play in facilitating the
delivery of all goods and services in an ethical and efficient manner.
6.) First, government should do no harm. It should get out of the way
and repeal all the laws that have contributed to the mess we have.
7.) The costs are obviously too high but in solving this problem one
cannot ignore the debasement of the currency as a major factor.
8.) Bureaucrats and other third parties must never be allowed to
interfere in the doctor/patient relationship.
9.) The tax code, including the ERISA laws, must be changed to give
everyone equal treatment by allowing a 100% tax credit for all medical
expenses.
Laws dealing with bad outcomes and prohibiting doctors from entering
into voluntary agreements with their patients must be repealed. Tort
laws play a significant role in pushing costs higher, prompting
unnecessary treatment and excessive testing. Patients deserve the
compensation; the attorneys do not.
10.) Insurance sales should be legalized nationally across state lines
to increase competition among the insurance companies.
11.) Long-term insurance policies should be available to young people
similar to term-life insurances that offer fixed prices for long periods
of time.
12.) The principle of insurance should be remembered. Its purpose in a
free market is to measure risk, not to be used synonymously with social
welfare programs. Any program that provides for first-dollar payment
is no longer insurance. This would be similar to giving coverage for
gasoline and repair bills to those who buy car insurance or providing
food insurance for people to go to the grocery store. Obviously, that
could not work.
13.) The cozy relationship between organized medicine and government
must be reversed.
Early on medical insurance was promoted by the medical community in
order to boost re-imbursements to doctors and hospitals. That
partnership has morphed into the government/insurance industry still
being promoted by the current administration.
14.) Threatening individuals with huge fines by forcing them to buy
insurance is a boon to the insurance companies.
15.) There must be more competition for individuals entering into the
medical field. Licensing strictly limits the number of individuals who
can provide patient care. A lot of problems were created in 20th
century as a consequence the Flexner Report (1910), which was financed
by the Carnegie Foundation and strongly supported by the AMA. Many
medical schools were closed and the number of doctors was drastically
reduced. The motivation was to close down medical schools that catered
to women, minorities and especially homeopathy. We continue to suffer
from these changes made which were designed to protect physician’s
income and promote allopathic medicine over the more natural cures and
prevention of homeopathic medicine.
16.) We must remove any obstacles for people seeking holistic and
nutritional alternatives to current medical care. We must remove the
threat of further regulations pushed by the drug companies now working
worldwide to limit these alternatives.
True competition in the delivery of medical care is what is needed, not
more government meddling.
Also by Ron
Paul:
Supporting
the War Instead of the Troops 03/16/10
Putting
the Constitution Back into the Oval Office 03/11/10
Census: A
Little Too Personal 03/09/10
Bizarre
Spending Habits 03/02/10
Government
Stimulus, One Year Later 02/23/10
View
all 59 articles by Ron Paul
Discuss
this article (24 comments)
