Arizonans for healthcare freedom

the arizona strategy

 
 

Q. All this health care reform talk won’t impact me. I can afford to pay for anything the government plan’s won’t cover. Why do I care?
 
A. The goal of those leading Washington’s push for health care reform – including President Obama and Congressional Democrats – is to create a “one-size-fits-all” system that includes every American. Failure to buy government-approved insurance would result in a fine or worse, while opting out to spend your own money on legal health care would be forbidden by law.

If D.C. politicians mandate that you participate in a government-controlled plan, it won’t matter if you have $1 or $1 billion to your name. With every doctor and every treatment under government control, we, the patients, will have no right to control our own health care decisions.

Q. But isn’t there a health care crisis in America?

A. Yes, for many Americans who don’t have health insurance, we’re in the midst of a crisis. But a takeover by Washington? Imposing a one-size-fits-all plan designed by politicians and lobbyists will make things worse, not better. We need to support health care reforms that do not deny and delay health care. Do we really trust the government to make our most private, most critical health care decisions for us? We need to find ways to provide more access to treatments with less interference from Washington bureaucrats. We need real health care reform that puts patients first.

Q. And what’s wrong with the public option? To me, that idea just sounds like more choice?

A. No. No matter what the politicians say, government will undoubtedly use its power to manipulate the rules and force people into its plan. Employers will drop coverage and force patients into the government plan. Taxpayers will then end up paying to bail out the government plan and give it enough money to run private health care out of business.

This has been tried, and it has failed. Arizona, Hawaii, and Massachusetts have all offered a public plan option… and in every case the plan has been abandoned, bureaucrats have severely reduced the quality of care, or the skyrocketing costs threaten to bankrupt us all.

Q.  Why should we allow private health insurers to continue to do business? They’re too expensive, they refuse to cover the treatment that I need, and they will not take care of pre-existing conditions?
 
A. You are absolutely correct. The private health insurance industry has serious flaws that must be fixed ASAP. We should have more choices to seek out health plans that fit our family’s needs, health plans that are more accountable to us as customers, and health insurance that we can take with us when we move or change jobs. Do you think you and your family will be better protected after being forced into a government-controlled HMO? Do you really trust Washington bureaucrats to make the right decisions to get you the care YOU need without life-threatening delays or outright denials? We don’t need government control. We need government to allow for better options to be developed to increase access and reduce cost.

Q. I trust my doctor. I guess I’m wondering if health care reform passes, will he or she have to follow Washington’s rules or his or her own good judgment?

A. Under government-controlled health care, every doctor will be forced to play by the government’s rules. The government plan will be so big and will command such an enormous portion of the market that most doctors will have no choice but to accept government funding along with whatever strings and mandates come with it. That means doctors will have government bureaucrats telling them what they can and can’t do. Patients will lose control of their own health care to bureaucrats and bean counters seeking to control costs by delaying and denying treatments.

It was recently reported that in the Britain, which has a government-run system, 4 out of 5 doctors fail to tell their patients about the existence of potentially life-saving drugs that the system refused to pay for. Read more about the article here.

Q. How long will I wait for care? Will my children have to wait in lines?

A. A government-run health care system is almost certain to lead to lengthy delays and denied treatments. Your quality of care will go down if politicians in Washington make decisions for you. Government officials could decide what care you and your family receive – and what care you are denied.

In Massachusetts, for example, one likely model state for health reform, it can take up to 100 days to see a non-specialist for a doctor’s appointment. Many doctors have stopped accepting new patients, and people who have been going to the same doctor for years are having trouble making appointments with short notice. In that state, the average wait to see a doctor is 50 days.  Read more about the article here.

In Canada, a country often pointed to as a health-care model, the waiting list to see a doctor for a medical procedure is over 800,000 patients long.