In the media lately, the issue of health care has become a topic of great importance and controversy, especially when many of our presidential candidates hold radically different views. As a practicing physician for more than 30 years, I have provided and used American medical care for a long time; in this span, I have come to learn a lot about the economics, politics, history and philosophy of medicine. Although medical care is obviously a complex topic that encompasses almost every institution of our society, I would, however, like to summarize a few fundamental ideas I now hold strongly about this subject.
Our country is in a cultural civil war. On one side is the value system leftism — the “Go Bernie” side. On the other is Americanism, represented by Ted Cruz and others like him. The two value systems have irreconcilable views about providing health care — however, only one, in my opinion, is right. The political left says the enlightened ones in government should give health care to us, whereas those on the right believe we, as free autonomous Americans, should be able to decide through free market capitalism. I agree strongly with the latter. This is the most moral, efficient and compassionate way to distribute health care and any other scarce resource in the world, whether it be cars, iPhones or heart bypasses. Free market capitalism is how you get bounty and excellence, and it increases human liberty, lowers cost and improves efficiency. That is why it is a moral system. The argument that cars, iPhones, clothes, food or TVs are essentially different than MRI scans or antibiotics is wrong.
I could provide dozens of examples to support this. Not too long ago, I took my elderly family member into the emergency room just a couple of miles away from the White House. Her private physician and I thought she needed to be hospitalized for several days. The emergency room doctor came to us and said almost verbatim:
“Doctors, I am not a political person, but we all need to understand now that government basically controls what goes on with your relatives. I understand she has abdominal pain. There is a specific code for all medical problems now. That means if we admit her, she must essentially get the care specified by the government. That care must include an intravenous solution of narcotic every four hours for pain. Though you say she does not need or want narcotics, if she declines such specified care, she will lose her coverage under Medicare, and any costs for her stay in the hospital will be on her own tab.”
This is what is here now and spreading throughout the medical system of America. It is a vile assault on our dignity, freedom and noble profession of medicine.
The more government control that exists in anything, the worse off it is. Multiple studies have shown that with bigger government, you get scarcity, intense rationing, high cost, low efficiency, less innovation, much less liberty and great mediocrity. That is why the more government, the less moral the system.
In Virginia, a State Health Commissioner determines the allowed number of MRI scanners in the state. They say, as usual, they know how to dispense fine care to all its citizens by allocating a “socially just” number of MRI scanners. Their reasoning is if there are too many scanners allowed, too many people will get unnecessary scans. The consequence is that MRI scans are much less available and much more costly. An MRI in a Virginia office can cost more than $1,700. Go 20 minutes across the Capital Beltway to this state with no such state controls and the same scan costs about $500 and is easier to schedule.
To the young, as well as the adult who never grows up, big government is very alluring. They typically delude themselves into thinking big government is good, kind and caring and can use its tremendous power to deliver free bounteous health care to every one of the 318 million of us. But that is a lie. It is a childish fantasy and a dangerous one.
We can’t have a government that dictates the kind of health we need and compel us to obtain it. This is utter nonsense. What it can do is give us the right to freely choose, through free market capitalism, what is best for ourselves. No government agent has a right to tell grandma what care she is going to get or whether there is a low-cost MRI scanner on her corner for her to use. No politician has the right to tell us to spend or not spend extra money to fly to the Mayo Clinic to have the most experienced surgeon operate on our brain. We are strong and free people. That is what American conservative values are about.
The free market is complicated and hard to understand unless one matures, collects some wisdom, reads the great classics of Americanism, spends years working and raising a family and taking lots of responsibility for oneself. Adam Smith’s great and beautiful “invisible hand” is indeed invisible to most of the young. That is why they connect so strongly to the Democratic left — to the “Go Bernie” signs. It is the party of children who live in a fantasy. All the big government talk from Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton does is degrade and eventually destroy everything it touches in American life. It destroys wealth and makes the poor poorer and the healthy much less so. It feels good but only does harm.
Howard Sachs MD is a diagnostic radiologist. He can be reached at hsachs@starpower.net.
