As a general rule of thumb, the reason a problem seems insoluble is that the actual anatomy of the problem has not been figured out. Lacking an understanding of the problem, we heap “fixes” on top of it. The result is that the problem gets worse. (Credit where credit is due: a talk on the anatomy of problems, by L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1961)
Even before Romneycare was enacted in Massachusetts, the state had a highly regulated health insurance market. And guess what, it also had the highest health insurance premiums in the country. Is it any better now? No, premiums are even higher. With all due respect to the current Republican presidential candidate, maybe he could have tried looking into WHY the insurance market was so heavily regulated.
The free market may not seem, to some people, to be appropriate for health care. But to what extent have we actually had a free market for it? Are there bottlenecks, restrictions, undue influence from a dominant group, excessive regulation?
With all due respect (again) to the American Medical Association, maybe someone should have a serious talk with them to see what they can do to take responsibility for their own industry. Not to impose on them what we think they should do, but perhaps to find out if they are doing anything to skew or restrain the freedom of the health care market. (Just a thought.)
It is a multi-level, multi-faceted, extremely complex problem. But hey, we’re Americans, right? What happened to our can-do spirit? Let’s find out what’s really going on.
Let’s solve it.
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