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The New Health Care Bill May Save Money, But It Will Drive You Crazy
by James Glaser March 18, 2010 The Democrats want to pass their Health Care Bill, not because a majority of them think it is a good bill, but because it will be worse for them politically if they don't. It is a pretty universal belief in Congress that there are some good things in this bill, but it is 2,700 pages long, and the good things only take a few pages to cover them. The rest? Who knows. No matter what you think about the bill, there is one thing both sides agree on, and that is the government will have a lot more to say about America's health system. I have been using America's other health care system for the last 40 years—that would be the Veterans Administration Health System. There are good things about it and bad things, too. The good is the people who staff the VA hospitals and clinics. Many of those people are veterans, and all of them want to help vets. The bad. Do we have room here? I can't tell you how many doctors I have had who could not speak English well enough for me to have any understanding of what they were telling me. It seems that foreign born and trained doctors will work a lot cheaper than American doctors. Government health care does cut costs any way they can. Health Care at the VA is rationed. They might not call it that, but when you have to wait months or years for a test, a lot of people die before that test can be given. That saves money, too. Now this might be a hard one for you to believe, but over the years I have come to believe that there is a bonus system at the VA. If they can make you crazy enough to commit suicide with scheduling changes, last minute cancelling of appointments, and the constant turn-over of doctors, somebody gets a check. Somebody gets a check every time another vet offs him or her self. You might think I am crazy to think that, but over the years I have seen veterans pushed by the VA system to the point that they can't take it any more. The truth is, many of these veterans were on the edge already, and the VA system gave them the push they needed to end it all. In years past they have pushed me really hard, and it is only the grace of God that has let me understand it is not personal, it is just another money saving government program. I call it, "Kill the Vet." So, Congress in its wisdom will probably let Washington get a foothold into our health care system. It is going to take about four years to get things rolling, and then give it another five years, and you can then think about this column and see if government health care is not driving you crazy, too. |
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