Reader Response to National Health Care post

Posted by DT
A reader responded:

What if, however, I don't agree that the #1 problem that needs to be fixed
is insuring everyone? Maybe I believe that the #1 problem that needs to be fixed
is to make it more affordable. Once that's accomplished, maybe we can increase
coverage. But to pile more people onto a sinking ship is counter-productive --
first the ship needs to be fixed or a new one built that can hold
everyone...

What do you think, has the Mass. plan been successful? Do
you think mandatory coverage has contributed to Mass. debt which is causing the
government to lay people off and force furlow and limit money paid out to the
towns for services? Obviously the economy is in the dumps so it's hard to
pin down all the factors, but is it reasonable to believe that this might be one
factor?

If you don't agree that a goal in the US should be to insure everyone, I'm not sure we have much common ground. One way to make health insurance more affordable to to cover everyone. Why? Because you increase the risk pool, capturing many young and healthy people whom you need in order to balance out the older, sicker people who cost so much money. But to expand this to a moral argument: isn't the task of government to solve problems? Every other First World country has figured out how to insure everyone, and it's working to varying degrees in each place. There is no movement anywhere to go back to a "you're on your own" system. It's just better for the citizenry. There's a current of thought running through the US polity that we government is completely unable to solve any problems, but it's just not true- our government may not be able to produce consumer goods efficiently, but there are lots of things it can and should be doing.

As to the second point, I'm not aware of any evidence that Massachusetts' insurance plan has been a major factor in its budget problems. For one thing the problems there are no worse than in other states. Financing was unproblematic until the economic crash. In fact the health care industry is one of the relative bright spots in the state. Like any program run by the government, health care subsidization for the poor is going to lead to budget challenges- like other challenges, it can be handled.