Mattress Answer Man Speaks |

Today on C-Span another of those Heritage Foundation thinkers talked out of both sides of his mouth to try and prove a point that doesn’t exist. Dennis G. Smith is the Senior Fellow in Health Care Reform at The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health Policy Studies. Just like most of his comrades from this organization, he makes Anne Rand seem like a liberal. This gentleman’s expertise is Medicaid. He has written papers on health care but if you read them they aren’t based on Medicare but on  Medicaid. One program is is welfare and the other is a paid program. While I will agree they both need fine tuning both are well liked by the majority of the public. These health care plans are both government run. As with all of the conservative decenters to a Public Plan he never mentions that you have to pay for the Public Plan and it isn’t free.

This gentleman is even more dangerous he believes in Co ops but not one large one. He wants many little ones. How transparent can you be and still sound intelligent. He also uses examples of Co ops that started small and grew that really aren’t true co ops. Sam’s Club is a co op look alike owned buy that non profit American product retailer Walmart that found a way to make money without selling anything. Mutual of  Omaha is another of his examples. The last time I looked it was on the stock market.

Mr Smith has decided that insurance is only for catastrophic events even though our health system is built to cover even prevention. Once he changes the common definition or decides that “blue Shield” is all there is and “Blue Cross” doesn’t exist his arguments almost sound correct. You see we are not only wrong about wanting good inexpensive health care, but even the poor situation we have is too much. He never said this but if you accept his definition then the other becomes true.

His theory of smaller co ops is a smack in the face of any rational thinker. The larger the group and the more age groups it covers will drive the costs down. Even the insurance companies agree that covering everyone is better. Mr Smith you received a master’s degree in public administration from George Mason University in 1990. In 1978, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Illinois State University. Neither of these studies make you an expert in any of the skills needed to design, or even speak to the economics of a pay for insurance plan. If you wish to use your experience with Medicaid then I wouldn’t even show my face based on your own assertion that it is failing. Anyone knows the larger the group the stronger the negotiating power, and in the case of insurance the further the risk is spread.

The fact that you don’t know whether it is going to be pay for service or a giant HMO is good. You state however that the legislation gives great power to one person to decide. Which of the five bills are you talking about, or did you only read one? Your final statement was unbelievable. If this turns into a cartel we will be in trouble. The oil cartel has done just fine for the oil companies and the oil producing nations. An Insurance cartel of purchasers should only work half as well.

more about “C-SPAN Video Player – Washington Jour…“, posted with vodpod