Blonch

Guest blogger: Wes Shannon has worked in the insurance and financial services industry for over 25 years in Fort Worth, Texas. A Fort Worth native, Wes is a proud Texan and promotes Texas’s cultural values. Please feel free to contact Wes for a comprehensive financial and insurance review.

There is big push now for “health care reform.” During the 20-plus years I have been involved in health insurance I have seen many changes. Some of these have proven to be good, but others have not. I deal with individuals and employers making choices about how they spend their health care dollars every day. It is not surprising to hear they are looking for a better deal – some are trying to reduce costs, others want to improve coverage. Everybody would take both if they could.

The current debate first was a “health care crisis” before it was cast as a “health insurance crisis.” There is a big difference. For years we have heard about rising costs of health care, and I had thought that was a problem – so maybe there is a “cost of health care crisis.” I also hear about growing shortages of doctors (general practitioners and internists) everywhere, but more so in rural areas. I’m not sure we have much agreement on what problems we are trying to solve, but we do seem to be in a hurry for solutions. In my head I keep hearing a frenzied Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka starting the tour of the Chocolate Factory by saying, “We must hurry, we must hurry. There is so much time and so little to do. No scratch that – reverse it.” Before we try to impose solutions, can we agree on what problem we are trying to solve? We also need to be cautious in making changes since solutions have unintended consequences.

There are a lot of social and political agendas blended into the proposals that are in the house and senate. Each deals with one or more aspects of a perceived problem. Rushing to implement a solution – any solution – without a good understanding of the problem, and the impact of the solution, is likely to create more problems than it solves. From what I can tell, the leading proposals don’t address the problems that I see, but have potential for unintended consequences making the cure worse than the disease.

On a side note, something I don’t see or hear anywhere about the crisis (pick a crisis-any crisis): what makes this crisis a federal issue? Why is congress involved at all? Where is the constitutional authority for the federal government to regulate or provide (pick your solution) health care or health insurance for us? The federal government is responsible for national defense, international relationships, a common currency, and regulation of commerce between the states so the states don’t take after each other. Everything else the federal government gets into is forced in under that commerce clause. I know this approach isn’t popular, so my next post moves on (get it?) to the debate on the current crisis, but if you can show the constitutional authority for the legislation being considered, I really would like to see it.

Health Care Crisis

Affordable Health Insurance Available

Health Savings Account

Filed under:
Insurance by PecosJack