Why is control of private insurance companies so critical?

by Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

read the full article here: Why is control of private insurance companies so critical? Follow the money. Medicare and Medicaid are broke. A financial bomb will explode Medicare starting in 2011 when the first of the “baby boomers” turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. “Baby Boomers” born between 1946 and 1964 will add another 76 million to the Medicare rolls.

Medicare is going broke. It cannot handle a dramatic cost increase. President Obama has quadrupled our national debt in his first year in office. Our deficit is now greater than the deficits of all US presidents combined, from George Washington to George W. Bush.

Washington desperately needs to get its hands on hard cash. Democrats only see 3 options to cover the staggering deficits, plus cover more people on Medicare:

1) print more money (following that, our dollar is worth less, things cost more)

2) raise taxes…at first on “the wealthy,” then as deficits build, higher taxes hit all taxpayers.

3) take over private insurance companies and their large mandatedfinancial reserves set aside to pay future claims.

The government can gain control of private sector money in at least two ways:

(1) Money now being paid for private health insurance premiums and medical services will go to government coffers, either as direct payments for premiums or as added taxes.

(2) The Government can nationalize private insurance companies and confiscate their financial reserves, providing enormous new cash under government control.

Could this be the reason why we see the current administration so entrenched in their position on healthcare and their refusal to discuss viable, lower cost options to fix only what is “broken?” Republicans, particularly Senator Jim DeMint and Representative Paul Ryan, have offered excellent ideas by citing strategies used by some states (Indiana) and private businesses like Whole Foods and Safeway to successfully solve problems of rising costs, while providing more patient empowerment over health choices.