Our country faces an economic crisis, largely due to the recently passed health care bill. How can we continue to expect receiving the very best medical care that technology can provide, extend it to the 50 million plus Americans that currently are uninsured and not bankrupt the country? How can we achieve these goals without placing an unreasonable tax burden on our small businesses, the backbone of the American economy? I applaud the President and Congress for compassionately tackling the difficult issue of universal access, but I fear that we are slipping more and more into a “big government will fix it” mentality, much to the detriment of personal liberty and responsibility. The government must live within its means, just like responsible individuals, families and businesses do, by adhering to a budget and not burdening its constituents with excessive taxation. To adequately fund universal health care in the United States will require an enormous source of revenue, and the independent, small business owner will be among those who will suffer. As businesses close and entrepreneurial energy is stifled, the economy will shrink, leading to more business closures and ultimately economic collapse.
I admit that I am not an economist, and I hope that the scenario described above never comes true. However, we must realize that “we can’t have our cake and eat it too” when it comes to government- directed universal health care. Elected local officials have the best sense as to what the needs of the community are, not the federal government. As a physician, I support increasing health care access by lowering charges, increasing the number of primary care providers and encouraging health care professionals, hospitals, churches and charitable organizations to increase their efforts at providing for the needy. Since most health care expenditure comes within the last year of life, we need to have a realistic view of when life ends and not throw vast sums of money attempting to prolong a patient’s life by a few months. Finally, each of us should practice a healthy lifestyle, as health care costs in this population are significantly less…RRS
