March 1, 2017

Rich get richer

The idea of a healthy America is not only noble, it should be basic to one people, united, and indivisible. Are we together in this American dream or not? The Affordable Care Act was the first step in assuring that American dream.

Healthy people make better employees, neighbors, parents, grandparents, and children. A healthy child makes parents better employees. The same applies to healthy parents. Sick people require more attention, both physical and mental. Sick people cost more to maintain. Health care includes prevention, early detection, and immediate aid. Prevention, early detection and immediate aid are less expensive to provide than the consequences of very sick people. Without health care everyone will sooner or later be very sick. Sick children do not benefit proportionately from schools and educational processes.

For rich people; why wouldn’t they want a healthy America? A healthy America provides better employees (fewer sick days and a more attentive work force). The cost of providing health care for non-employees is less than the consequences of sick people affecting the work force. Sick people and their family members cannot participate in economic activities. Think of rich people as job creators and producers of goods and services. Is it not in their best interest to have a healthy and vibrant population participating in the market place?

For our senior citizens; is it right to cast them aside? No! They paid their dues. Many served in the military, mined coal, built cars, developed software, and maintained the infra-structure that built the economy we enjoy today. They deserve all the care we can give them.

For poor people; just ask yourself, are they Americans? Of course, and poor health correlates closely to low economic advantage. Provide complete health care to poor people and the quality of the work force will improve immediately. If you want more and better employees, build a better pool to draw from. Healthy poor people will also benefit from education and improve the work force even more.

Access

Access to healthcare is not having healthcare. Everyone has access to a brand new Cadillac. We can all go to auto row, talk to a salesman, and take a test drive. Only a few can afford to drive one off the lot. Access to health care does not provide prevention, early detection, drugs, or care for anybody if they cannot afford to buy it. What’s different, what’s the same? Everyone buying a Cadillac would benefit General Motors, but it wouldn’t improve the health and education of America as would healthcare. Everyone driving a Cadillac wouldn’t build a better work force, and senior citizens would still have to decide between food, drugs and care they need. Access to a Cadillac is good, but only universal coverage is good enough for healthcare.

Paying for healthcare with tax credits is a hoax. It immediately eliminates too many Americans. It’s also a hoax from a mathematical standpoint. Do the math and follow the example. Assume that under the current tax code the government collects $1,000. From that pool of dollars the government pays out $50 to supplement heath care for Americans. Now, one of our brainstorms from congress decides to pay for health care by providing tax credits. The result? Now, the government collects $950, rich people get to keep $50 (tax credit), and guess who loses their health care. The government gains nothing, rich people get richer, and poor people die in the streets. Are we in this together, or not?