McCain Has Part of the Healthcare Solution

Pharmaceutical companies must be cringing and building a war chest for 527 ads against the extreme left socialists that the Democratic part have offered up as presidential candidates for the 2008 presidential election. Compared to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Bill Clinton looks like Rush Limbaugh. The socialized medicine solutions the Democrats are considering would send healthcare prices through the roof and decrease the quality of healthcare the middle class would receive. Admittedly, the very poor may do better.

On the right though, the Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, doesn't offer much relief for the pharmaceutical companies, but not all of his policies are counter capitalism.

First, rather than forcing an expansion of insurance coverage through government mandates, he hopes to motivate individuals to buy insurance through tax credits.

This will help the healthcare crisis. Individuals need to know and choose their healthcare plan. The idea behind capitalism is that people buy the best product for the best price. When the company (or worse the government) chooses you healthcare for you, you don't see how much it cost, you are stuck with the few plans available, and you pay more taxes or your company pays more in healthcare premiums.

Second, he has some good ideas for tackling America's runaway health costs. Those are largely driven up by the overuse of technology and needless medical diagnostic tests and treatments. Mr McCain wants to reverse the perverse incentives that lead to such abuse by scrapping payments for individual procedures in favour of giving fixed payments to doctors and hospitals for actually solving particular health problems.

This is not a good idea. If you have a condition you may need an MRI, not an Xray. But an Xray is cheaper. Under the McCain plan the cost for your bad back is the same whethr you get an MRI or an Xray. Naturally, the healthcare provider will give you an Xray and charge you for the same rate as if you got an MRI.

The last and final McCain measure would be to go after tort reform. This is the best idea that is long overdue.

Trial lawyers like former Democratic Presidential  Candidate, John Edwards, have done more damage than good. Edwards made millions with "junk science" suing obstetricians for procedures he claimed caused cerebral palsy-this turned out to be false.

This forced obstetricians to perform C-sections when it was unwarranted.

Tort lawyers have driven up the price of malpractice insurance premiums and in turn healthcare prices. Don't be fooled, the cost of malpractice insurance is paid by the customer, not the physician, through healthcare costs. So while making a very few very rich, tort lawyers have increased the price of healthcare for the rest of us.