The Big Brother fix

Almost daily, I hear a TV commentator, or a politician, proclaim that Republicans cannot just say no to Obamacare... they must offer an alternative. Meaning, of course, another thousand page law that will give the government complete control. Obamacare II. Or, should we call it GOPcare I?

How many times must the Tea Party and other Republican Conservatives reiterate our desire for smaller government? How many times must we point out that we do not want the government to DO something big. We want the government to UNDO a lot of small things.

I just heard a report that we will be short 90,000 doctors. Why? One major reason is that the government has burdened the medical profession with non-medical nonsense. Another is that the government has facilitated malpractice lawsuits. Why would anyone want to endure the rigors of medical training, knowing they will spend a major part of their time and earnings complying with burdensome regulations... and knowing they could lose it all if some eloquent trial lawyer convinces a jury in favor of his client?

Another "unintended consequence" of possible malpractice lawsuits is that they force a doctor to take every possible step, in every diagnosis, for every patient. Doctors are forced to order expensive tests, possibly in spite of their better judgement. It they don't, and their diagnosis is even misinterpreted, they are sure to end up in court.

It is a simple truth that the more people an insurance company signs up, the better. Employer pools almost always offer great coverage for lower premiums, because the employer buys insurance for every employee.

Yet, the government interferes with that business. Allow insurance companies to sell across state lines, even international borders. Allow them to offer packages of coverage tailored specifically to the interests of the buyer. Want to sign up more young people? Allow them to buy a policy to cover only a catastrophic illness or accident. That could be a very low cost policy. And, it could be profitable for the insurance company because they would rarely pay benefits.

After all, we want insurance to cover something we could not cover ourselves. Why make people buy insurance to cover unlikely expenses? Or, expenses they can financially handle?

Government needs to stop piling on to the cost of medical care. The tax on medical devices is a display of ignorance. Not only does it make the cost of things like pacemakers higher, it discourages research and development. That could deprive us of newer and better technologies.

Republicans need to keep saying no to Obamacare and to every government encroachment upon the medical profession, the health insurance providers, and the manufacturers of all sorts of medical supplies and devices. They must not say yes to any new government laws, regulations or taxes. Please, not another big brother fix!