PurpleThink.com

Healthcare for the Mass.es
April 7,2006

Signs you may wish to duck and cover:

1) Four horsemen descend from the blood-stained heavens accompanied by angels foretelling the end of time.

2) You see a flash of light followed by large mushroom clouds and a rolling wind of fire headed for your home.

3) A Republican governor signs-on to universal healthcare.

Prepare to duck and cover from the onslaught of shoddy reporting and politicking on this healthcare issue.

This week, the Massachusetts state legislature handed Governor Mitt Romney a bill that would create the nation’s first universal health care program. Romney proposed much the same program and so his signature is expected. The new law would require coverage of every state citizen and punish violators with higher tax bills. The state would subsidize premiums for those with incomes up to 3 times the poverty line. The law would use the private insurance system for coverage, and the state to funnel funding accordingly.

Let the spin begin.

Ever since Hillary-care was proposed during the Clinton administration, universal health care has been a base-shoring topic for conservatives and liberals alike. It appears that Romney has found a way to appease both sides of the debate. Beware, however. It is unlikely that polarized ideologues will be satisfied. Liberals will decry the continued use of non-standardized private insurers, and conservatives will use the “s” word to label the program as anti-capitalist.

On its surface, the bill appears to be pure genius. We already have mandatory auto insurance for the same reason – to protect our citizens while preventing tax payers having to foot the bill for the uninsured. Arguably, state mandated auto insurance has increased competition and opened new markets. This program goes even further, allowing employer contributions from multiple employers in a household to be combined and used toward a single family policy. Insurance carriers could no longer depend on a monopoly with certain large employers, promoting competition that could drive down prices. What’s not to like?

For some conservatives, the issue is the new bureaucracy needed to monitor and direct subsidized funding, and employer contributions that will funnel through state-run channels before reaching insurers. With any welfare-esque proposal, there are those who despise people getting something for nothing at the expense of taxpayers. Conservatives look to the labor crisis in France and see how guaranteed health care can be a disincentive to work.

For some liberals, the issue is the inconsistency inherent in any private market system. Any time the market runs the show, some may remain underinsured, and the wealth of options may confuse and mislead the weakest among us.

Truth is, this is exactly what our founding fathers wanted. When states are allowed to experiment with novel ways to cure social ills, we all win. Regardless of whether or not this new program is successful, all states are forced to watch and learn. Good businesses pilot test new products and services in a controlled environment lest they sink the whole ship with an unanticipated problem in a market strategy. Similarly, all new laws – especially social welfare laws – are risks to the economy and society. Our Republic of individual states allows for pilot testing of such laws -- then, and only then, would it be appropriate to explore a national system.

We PurpleThinkers hope the Masachusetts experiment is successful. Not just because it would promote better health in a free market system, but because it may force us to reconsider how much our federal government stifles state “pilot testing” of ideas that make us all stronger. Ever since civil-rights era bigots used the term “states rights” to justify institutional racism in the South, America has moved towards federal consolidation of wealth and power. It’s time again to allow states to tinker with government. So long as that tinkering does not infringe upon our basic constitutional rights, it’s all good.

This was a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. No need to duck and cover. We now return you to your normally scheduled bickering.