Commentary - Kim Priestap: Americans don’t want more government health care

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Heath care is an issue that has garnered a lot of discussion recently; however, much of that discussion has been centered on government playing a larger role. The plans the Democrats are offering have one thing in common: universal health care requiring a lot of government control. But do Americans want a universal health care system?

Back in 1993, Hillary Clinton learned the hard way that the answer was no. When Americans read the details of Hillary’s plan, they didn’t want any part of it. The backlash to HillaryCare was so strong that it contributed to the Republican’s 1994 takeover of the House of Representatives.

After the American people overwhelmingly rejected Hillary’s plan, she was forced to retool. The result was the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan, or SCHIP, a government run and funded universal health care system for poor kids. Now the plan is up for renewal, and Senator Clinton wants to triple spending, making children in a family of four living at 400 percent of the poverty level, approximately $82,000 a year, eligible. And should she be elected, it’s not unreasonable to expect that she would try to expand SCHIP even further.

Not surprisingly, other Democratic primary leaders also offer plans that require more government control. John Edwards wants a universal health care plan through the already bloated and inefficient Medicare system that is to be paid for by rolling back President Bush’s tax cuts and places strict rules and regulations on existing insurance companies.

Barack Obama’s plan requires business mandates to pay for the program and creates a new government bureaucracy called the National Health Insurance Exchange, which places the current insurance industry under massive government regulations.

More government control is not what Americans want for their health care. According to a recent ABC/Kaiser Family Foundation/USA Today poll, the American people like the idea of universal coverage in theory. However, when they learn about the realities of universal health care, such as limited choice of doctors, limited access and waiting lists for many procedures, they balk at the idea very quickly just as they did in 1993.

And that’s no surprise, since most Americans are happy with their insurance plans. Right now, 88 percent of insured Americans are satisfied with their coverage, and 89 percent are satisfied with the quality of care they receive.

Republicans are promoting health care reform as well but offer solutions that will increase competition, the only way to effectively control costs. Sens. Jon Kyl and Tom Coburn are creating a plan similar to President Bush’s proposal of tax breaks for Americans who don’t get insurance through their employers so they can purchase their own health insurance. This puts the control of health care where it belongs: with individual families, not government bureaucrats.

Similarly, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani recommends a tax credit of $15,000 to American families to purchase their own health insurance. According to the ABC/KFF/USA Today poll, 89 percent of those polled like the idea of tax breaks. Additionally, Giuliani recommends changing the law so insurance companies in one state can offer coverage to those living in other states, infusing competition into the health insurance market.

The biggest concern Americans do have with their health insurance is cost, so tax breaks for those who purchase their own combined with greater choice in insurance companies addresses that concern directly.

When it comes to health care, the American people seem to have two choices: the Democrats’ plan, which increases government control of health care or the Republican’s plan, which encourages individual control. If given the choice, the American people are likely to choose the latter.

Kim Priestap blogs at National Review Online, Wizbang.com and Embracing Momminess

Advertisement