Why the current healthcare reform package is doomed to fail...

As discussed earlier, one of the largest costs of healthcare that we Americans share is the cost attributable to chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. A large percentage of those cases are situations in which the disease was almost certainly the result of a lifestyle choice, whether it be smoking, obesity, malaise, etc. That means lifestyle choice is a major cost, if not the major cost, of healthcare today. In private insurance, there is a disincentive for people, and that is the increased cost of health care premiums based upon poor lifestyle choices. even in large corporations where seemingly everyone has the same costs, an employer can realize significant savings by supporting efforts to increase the health of its workers. Many companies now offer significant incentives for a healthier lifestyle to its employees.

Now comes KennedyCare. In the bill, the cost borne by each of us will depend entirely from our economic situation. Those in higher tax brackets will pay more taxes to support this program. Okay, thats just like any other tax, so what is the problem? The problem is that this is a bandaid over a gaping chest wound. Instead of disincentivizing poor lifestyle habits, through the means of taxation, poor habits will actually be subsidized. Thats right. No more economic disincentives.

Now, let's look at the affect this healthcare bill will have. Because poor lifestyle choices will now be subsidized, the standard of health in our country will continue to fall, which will mean increased costs, increased taxes. Those taxes cannot all be borne by the rich and will cause increased taxes on middle and low income earners. What does this mean? Unhealthy food is usually cheaper than healthy food. With less money to spend, low wage earners will increasingly turn to unhealthy foods to eat, as their budgets are increasingly being eroded by increasing taxes supporting unhealthy lifestyles.

That means that an increasing number of people will suffer from chronic illnesses, thus increasing the costs more, causing a vicious cycle. How did this happen?

It happened purely because our representatives failed to identify and correct the real problems, and instead, looked blindly at idealogy to solve the problem. Without solving the problem of chronic illness first, any healthcare reform may end up causing more harm than good.