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State Representative Tom Hackbarth
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-2439
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS COLUMN
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IS NOT THE SOLUTION
By Tom Hackbarth
State Representative
Health care is currently a large issue in Minnesota. There are numerous health care related subcommittees and hearings taking place at the Capitol. It seems like I read about it in the news papers once a week. The outlook these papers try and make me believe is very dark and very gloomy.
It seems like some of the Democrats in Minnesota have a very gloomy outlook of health care. In fact they don’t like the fact over 90% of Minnesotans have health insurance, and Minnesota has a low rate of premature death along with a low infant mortality rate. All these things scare the Democrats. They point to Minnesota being ranked as the 2nd healthiest state in the union and say we aren’t doing enough.
I agree that Minnesota could do better and there are great ways to improve our rankings. However, what the Democrats want to do is turn the health care system in Minnesota on its head. They want to take a great health care state and give it over to the government. They want to give the government control of our health care facilities like the Mayo Clinic and our local hospitals.
The Democrats have introduced legislation, House File 2522, to create universal health care in Minnesota. Their plan would make it illegal for you to have any other health plan; in short you would get what ever the government thinks you should have. Instead of going to the doctor and having a conversation with them on your illness, you’d be telling everything about your health needs to the government and they would decide if you qualify for care or not.
The Democrats don’t want to limit this to just Minnesotans though. They want to give it to anyone who comes to Minnesota. In fact they Democrats want to cover anyone who physically shows up at a hospital and says they intend to live here. We could have people from all over the country coming to Minnesota to get treatment, and all they have to do is say they “intend” to live here and we will have to pay for their treatment.
There is one thing not addressed in this legislation. That is the cost. Now we all know who would pay for that: you and I would pay for it. Our taxes would go up exorbitantly to fund this program. Remember that anyone who comes here would benefit from it, even those who do not pay taxes here. The projections show that by 2030 the states entire tax revenue would be consumed by such a health care plan. Then the state would have to double the income tax and probably many other taxes as well.
The cost is enormous. The benefits are horrible. We would all see rationed care. If you needed rotator cuff surgery you would need to ask the governments permission before you could get it, and if they said you could it would likely take months before it could happen. We could be like some British people who are resorting to pulling their own teeth with a pliers because they government has rationed their dental care.
The mystery in all of this is that the very same people who are blaming the government for the I-35W bridge collapse want to give the government control of our health care system. This does not make sense. Do they want to see our hospitals fall down as well? Do they really think the government could do a better job? As President Reagan said "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."
I would say I was shocked by this proposal, but I am not. The Democrats have once again shown their unquenchable appetite for power and money. By taking away our money and telling us if we can receive medical care or not they would be taking away our rights and freedoms. We need to rally against this government intrusion. We need to defend our rights, our freedoms, and our wallets.
News Items
- Dems propose to spend and tax - (Posted: Mar 22 2013 12:00AM)
- Statewide insurance plan makes headlines - (Posted: Mar 15 2013 12:00AM)
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