Fighting Obesity with Obesity

You've heard it a thousand times, "You can't fight fire with fire". Apparently House Democrats and President Obama think they are Red Adair.

While Red proved there is at least one circumstance where the old cliche comes up short, I wonder if the Dems are considering the explosive and damaging consequences of his procedure. When Red used fire to put out fires, he literally blew the fire up to extinguish it.

Maybe this is what Democrats desire. It is certainly plausible that they will destroy the country and some number of people with their obese health care proposal. Have you seen the massive chart of bureaucratic paper pushing they invision to solve the inflamed health care crisis?

The Democrats' socialistic Health-Care Reform proposal fights obesity with obesity. While Americans are increasingly inflamed by bloated diets, a lack of exercise and other behavioral risks, the Democrats want to increase the size of government to fight the problem. The problem is not a lack of government programs. The problem is a lack of American's that are responsible for their own health. The problem is Americans that are increasingly dependent on entitlements, rather than their own good choices. The problem is a nation that is already dependent upon government, corporate, and institutional health subsidies.

No one can own your health for you. It is your responsibility. If you want the liberty to eat want you want; if you want the freedom to abort your own child and get in bed with whatever diseases you choose, DON'T ASK ME TO PAY FOR IT! Health is your choice and your responsibility. Adding a more obeseity to an already obese U.S. government and U.S. population will only create a greater explosion! If you want to fix the health care crisis in American, remove the bloated government regulations that are in the way, and let the people have liberty!

God Save the U.S.A.

Photo by Peter Dejong, April 1991

See Behavioral Health Risk Factors on http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm

Red Pill? Blue Pill?

"You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Congressman Henry Waxman only offers blue pills, and you must swallow quickly. Representative Joe Barton is begging for time to peruse the Healthcare Reform Act of 2009. House Democrats plan to introduce and pass a bill impacting more than 20% of the U.S. G.D.P., while you’re still dreaming about how the wonders MJ.

I echo Representative Barton's call, "It is time to flood the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121". The Democrats and President Obama’s administration apparently misunderstand our vocabulary. This time the word is transparency. While most consider government transparency to imply visibility; Obama apparently was thinking of invisibility while speaking his campaign promises. Obama, Waxman, and company do not want you or the U.S. House to see the blue pill of panacea they are about to ram down America’s throat.

Socialized medicine is coming to America unless you can quickly find the red pill. Taking the red pill is equivalent to swallowing the harsh reality that you are the biggest contributor to health care costs. Many Americans are choosing risky health behaviors, and that is choking our health care system. Join Arlene Wohlgemuth and me for the Political Hope Radio Show this Sunday as we discuss Behavioral Health Risks and propose alternatives to a Universal Healthcare System.

Arlene is a Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Center for Health Care Policy. She served in the 74th - 78th Texas Legislatures for District 58 (Burleson). Ms. Wohlgemuth authored HB 2292 (78th) , the sweeping reform of Health and Human Services which improved service delivery for the recipients, saving taxpayers more than $3.7B during its first five years. The reforms consolidated twelve agencies into five, and represented the largest government reform bill ever passed in the state.

I love those Red Pills take bring Government Reform...

God Save the U.S.A.

Corporations Destroying Free Market Healthcare

Statement: Contemporary corporate and institutional healthcare plans in the United States work against free market forces and subsidize poor health in America.

Hypothesis: Large risk pools associated with corporations and institutions remove the financial consequences of risky behaviors that lead to poor health, higher healthcare demand, and higher healthcare cost.

Free Market Healthcare Facts:

• Less demand for healthcare will lower healthcare costs.
• Living healthier lifestyles and reducing behavioral health risks will lower healthcare costs.
• Healthy and responsible Americans can buy health insurance at a lower rate than large risks pools (this is the exception rather than the norm).
• Purchasers are more frugal when paying for goods or services out of their own wallet.
  

Observations:

• Twenty-seven percent (27%) of Americans are obese in addition to thirty-six percent (36%) that are overweight, which leaves only thirty-seven percent (37%) that are neither overweight nor obese.
• Small businesses, the self-employed, and individuals normally pay more for health insurance than larger risk pools, in part because they must bear the free market forces on an individual basis. These free market forces reflect personal health risks and personal financial risks. When two persons have the same health risks, the person with a poor credit history will pay more than the person with a better credit rating. When two people have the same credit rating, the person with better health (lower health risk) pays less.
• Corporate and institutional employees pay the same rate for health insurance, regardless of the risks associated with their lifestyles choices, current health condition or credit rating.
• When health expenses are managed by a third party, the system is more likely to be abused or mismanaged.
• U.S. healthcare spending as a portion of the GDP is almost four times greater in 2009 than 1969.

Proposal to Restore the Free Market: U.S. corporations and institutions are urged to stop subsidizing behavior health risks. Health insurance costs of individual employees should be rated according individual risk. Corporation should make statistics on the spectrum of employee healthcare costs visible to officers and shareholders, and to make personal healthcare cost benefits visible to employees in comparison to overall employee trends. Corporations and institutions should hold employees financially accountable for their health performance/costs, rather than subsidizing unhealthy behaviors of irresponsible employees. This proposal may be implemented in with various methods. The goal is to ensure employees bear the burden of their behavioral health risks. This will create more personal responsibility in living a healthy life style and thereby reduce healthcare costs.

God Save the U.S.A.

References and Recommended Reading:
CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
National Health Insurance—A Brief History of Reform Efforts in the U.S.
The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures
National Health Expenditure Projections 2008-2018