Another Health-Care Myth

Before reading this, answer this question: Does preventative care have a net effect of increasing or decreasing medical expenses for an individual? For society generally?

Once you've reached your conclusion, read this article by Charles Krauthammer to discover whether or not you were right.

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My two cents:

I make it a practice never to openly impugn the motives of those with whom I disagree. I generally assume that people (no matter how wrong-headed I think them) are sincere, that their intentions are good, and that most harms caused are unintentional. But sometimes - and I think this is true for all of us - the best intentions can be used to rationalize the worst behavior, and while a person can be forgiven the unforseen harmful consequences of their well-intending actions, they cannot be excused for any intentional wrongdoing in support of those sincerely-held beliefs.

To clarify - President Obama believes that socialized medicine will, generally speaking, benefit the American people. That's his sincerely-held belief. If he achieves his goal and the resulting reforms are damaging to American health-care, I can certainly blame him for the harm done but I cannot claim that he acted maliciously. He would have only been doing what he thought was right. But if he intentionally deceives or misleads the American people in an attempt to persuade them to support his plan, he has crossed a distinct moral line and can be judged accordingly.

Which brings me to my conclusion: When it comes to the health-care debate, President Obama is lying. He is lying with good intentions - to get the American people to vote for reform that he believes will inure to their benefit - but lying nonetheless. Think this is a bit harsh? Consider:

As Mr. Krauthammer points out, the high costs of universal preventative care are unquestionable. Now, you can argue that it's money well spent - that preventative care is worth the high cost - but you can't (honestly) argue the cost. Most americans are happy with their health-care, so they aren't buying the argument that the President's overhaul is worth the massive pricetag. So what do you do when people aren't buying what you're selling? You lower the price. What if you can't lower the price? If you're a businessman, you close your doors. If you're a politician, you lie about the price.

So when President Obama says "[Preventative care] saves lives. It also saves money," what are we to conclude? He and his economic advisors are nothing if not intelligent; they fully understand the enormous costs of these programs - they're just betting on the fact that the average American citizen does not. Based on the recent outcry at townhall meetings across the country, the gamble isn't paying off.