Health Care
In June 2000, World Wrestling Entertainment star, Val Venis, traveled to the United States to get hip surgery. A Canadian citizen by birth, the buff, 250-pound WWE wrestler was entitled to "free" health care in his home country.
Like thousands of other Canadians every year--some estimate tens of thousands--Venis crossed the border to get the prompt, high-quality health care he could only find in the United States.
He explained that in Canada he would have to wait months (or even years) for the "non-critical" surgery that would allow him to walk again without pain. And many Canadian hospitals don't have the state-of-the-art equipment their United States counterparts do. So Venis chose to pay for his surgery rather than settle for slow, questionable care in Canada's "free" health care system.
Unfortunately, Democratic and Republican politicians don't seem to have the same grasp of medicine and economics that professional wrestlers have. Through regulations and mandates, they are trying to mimic Canada's failed system. In doing so, they are damaging what once was the best health care system in the world.
As recently as the 1960's, low-cost health insurance was available to virtually every American--including people with existing medical conditions. Doctors made house calls. A hospital stay was only a few days' pay, and charity hospitals were available to take care of families who couldn't afford to pay for health care.
Then the federal government moved in--with Medicare, Medicaid, the HMO Act, and tens of thousands of regulations on doctors, hospitals, and health insurance companies. Medicare regulations alone run more than 100,000 pages. Today, more than 50% of all health-care dollars are spent by the government.
Libertarians know that the only health care reforms that will make a real difference are those that draw on the strength of the free market. We propose to establish medical savings accounts to allow tax-free contributions in a medical savings program or 100% tax deductibility for all health care costs. We propose to deregulate the health care industry by repealing all government policies that increase health costs and decrease the availability of health services. We propose to remove the barriers to safe, affordable medications by replacing the harmful FDA with a more agile free-market alternative. This last measure alone could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year by providing medications without a 10-year testing delay imposed by the FDA.
In January 2003, more than 800 West Virginia physicians protested the increasing cost of medical malpractice insurance by walking off the job for a week. All non-emergency surgeries had to be postponed, and emergency care had to be provided by ambulance transport to Ohio and surrounding areas. Were these doctors simply being greedy? No. With some specialty malpractice insurance rates reaching the $200,000 mark each year, many physicians are electing to change specialties, move, or close their practices altogether. The rising insurance rates are a direct result of overzealous jury awards, governmental regulations and mandates, and an insurance company that hides behind regulations instead of operating in a free-market environment. How long will it be before no doctor can afford insurance coverage?
UPDATE:
February 5, 2003, St. Augustine, Florida -- 300 doctors and health care workers walked off the job and closed offices to protest malpractice insurance rates. The skyrocketing premiums are blamed on excessive jury awards and meritless lawsuits.
An AMA study revealed twelve states facing a medical malpractice insurance crisis: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia.