What's Wrong with National Health Care?

In last week’s Health Tip we began taking a look at recent legislation called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also referred to as “Obamacare”, “National Health Care” or “Socialized Medicine.” I shared a letter I had written to Hillary Clinton 18 years ago to show that my opposition to National Health Care (PPACA as it is called today) is not recent. I opposed National Health Care 18 years ago just as much as I oppose it today, because it is dangerous to the health, well-being, pocketbooks, and freedoms of the American people.

Is National Health Care a Good Idea?

There are a number of reasons to be concerned about PPACA. Here are the three I feel are most important. 1. PPACA cannot bring health to the American people. One of the reasons I opposed National Health Care 18 years ago is the same reason I oppose National Health Care (PPACA) today. – Neither is capable of bringing health to the American people! Rather than bringing health to the American people, PPACA will force all Americans, whether they want to participate in it or not, into a system that has already proven to be an abject failure. Doctors and drugs never have nor never will be capable of bringing health to the American people! Why? Because the treating of disease doesn’t produce health! Furthermore, these modalities are often more dangerous to the health of the individual being treated than the disease they are being treated for. Here is just one example of why I say this: Every year in America, medical mistakes and adverse reactions to prescription drugs cause the death of over a half-million Americans! That makes modern medicine the number one cause of death in America each and every year.

• Dr. Leape, in 1994, said his figure of 180,000 medical mistakes annually was equivalent to three jumbo-jet crashes every two days.
• The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million. The total number of iatrogenic deaths is 783,936.

The results obtained by going to doctors and taking drugs for physical and psychological problems hasn’t improved in the past 2,000 years! The below verse from the Bible tells us the results the medical community was obtaining in treating a woman with health issues over 2,000 years ago, a woman who walked this earth during Jesus’ time here on earth.

“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:25-26)

And please note that today, over 2,000 years since the "modern medicine" of Jesus' day was incapable of healing this woman in the Bible with an “issue of blood”, modern medicine is still incapable of healing disease any better. Yes, today, people are still suffering greatly at the hands of modern medicine no matter how many scientific breakthroughs and advances they claim, or how many medical breakthroughs they claim are on the horizon. Did you ever watch a friend or loved one, after having been diagnosed with cancer, go to the hospital and after the administering of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery suffer greatly like the woman with the issue of blood? Not to mention: “had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” If you have ever watched a person go through that torture, you understand what I am saying here. They experience wretched vomiting, violent shaking, hair falling out, muscle wasting, along with unobservable damage to brain, liver, kidneys, and so many more horrible side-effects. And then after all of this torture, the cancer often comes back, and they go through that torture again, with the same or worse results, and then too often – they die anyway. Can this so-called progress honestly be called “health care”? And then there is the cost... 2. PPACA will bankrupt our government and its people. QUESTION: Is the health of the American people any better today when we are spending $2.7 trillion annually for health care, than it was in 1994 when Hillary Clinton was trying to get the nation to adopt a national health care plan and we were spending $942 billion annually? The 2.7 trillion spent last year on health care is projected to top $3 trillion this year. In fact, the cost of health care is projected to increase every year into the distant future with no letup in sight, as the people of our great land become progressively sicker. QUESTION: Are the results the American people are obtaining, after all the money being spent on so-called “health care” today any better than the results obtained 2,000 years ago, when this women “spent all that she had”, as recorded in the Bible?

“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and hadbeen to many physicians, and had SPENT ALL THAT SHE HAD, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:25-26)

The more people forced into National Health Care (PPACA), the higher the costs will become. The health of the American people cannot be improved by spending ever more money on so-called health care. That is already a proven fact! But there is a solution, and I will share what the solution is in next week’s Health Tip. 3. PPACA will bring us a step closer to socialism. National Health Care is something most European governments have provided their citizens for many years. The cost of European health care, along with other social programs, and an ever increasing control of industry by government, have brought the people of Europe into what is called “European Socialism”. As government control and power over the private sector has increased, the freedoms of the people have decreased. European socialism has caused a great loss of freedoms, brought economic chaos, and increasingly poorer health to the people of Europe. As government provides ever increasing social programs for the people, the people become increasingly dependent on government and begin to feel that these social programs are a “right”! These social programs are NOT guaranteed in the Constitution of these United States. The only responsibility of government to the people is to protect the people from foreign invaders and provide an environment where the people can pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in a free environment. Only in a free society, not hindered nor encumbered by government, can a nation flourish! Then when the government cannot continue these social programs because the money is gone and they try to cut back, the people rise up in anger, vote out the government that is trying to bring about austerity, and vote for and demand that these social programs continue. Greece is an excellent example of what ultimately happens under socialism. When there is no more money to pay for these social programs and the government tries to cut back on government handouts, there is rioting in the streets by the people who want the government to continue the handouts, even though there is no longer any money to pay for them.

What Is Socialism?

The word “socialism” ought to scare every red blooded, freedom loving American, because it is the first tool government uses in an attempt to enslave the people. And once a socialist government has been installed the next step is communism. There are only three systems available to supply the necessities of life – Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. Those seeking to bring America into a socialist system criticize capitalism and make it a dirty word, claiming it to be an unjust system. Though there are some unscrupulous individuals who abuse and misuse this system, critics of capitalism fail to realize that it is capitalism that has made America the envy of the world and the place where multitudes from around the world have been seeking to escape to for hundreds of years. Politicians seeking to bring about a “socialist” form of government go after the poor, telling them that they are being mistreated by those who have more then they, or try to make it a race issue. But most Americans have no idea what being poor is no matter what the color of their skin. The poorest in America, in a capitalist society, are rich compared to others in the world living under a socialist or totalitarian government. In America, under a capitalist system, the poor drive automobiles have televisions and cell phones, running water, plenty of food on the table and a roof over their head. If a person wants to see what being poor really is, they should go see what I saw when I visited South Africa some years ago. There, many of the poor live in shanty villages without electricity, a toilet, or even running water, with absolutely no hope for the future. My own grandparents on my mother’s side, right here in America, lived without electricity, running water or a toilet, without health insurance or life insurance, and never considered themselves to be poor, nor did they ever receive or expect even one dime from government. Rather they were proud, hard working Americans that earned their bread by the sweat of their brow, and because of their industriousness, had great hope for the future. For a moment, let’s take a look at the differences between Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. Webster’s Dictionary defines each as follows:

“CAPITALISM – an economic system in which investing in and ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals . . .”

For years, we have had leadership in our government, politicians who have been trying to take our country away from a capitalist system and into a socialist system. If they succeed, it will forever destroy America as we have known it. And what is socialism? Again, let’s allow Webster to define:

“SOCIALISM – a theory or system of SOCIAL organization in which the means of production and distribution of goods are owned and controlled collectively or by GOVERNMENT . . . the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism . . .” “COMMUNISM – . . . a system of SOCIAL organization in which all economic and SOCIAL activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single political party. . .”

The United States of America for over 200 years has been a bastion of freedom – the envy of the world – the land of the FREE and the home of the brave! Our pledge of allegiance to our country's flag states: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, with LIBERTY and JUSTICE FOR ALL.”

Health Care Plan Dangers - Exposed

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your advisory the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” (I Peter 5:8-9)

In order to better understand why I oppose National Health Care it is necessary to take a look at not only the failure of the system to improve the health of the people and its unsustainable costs, but also the implications of socialism, and how National Health Care (PPACA), when forced upon the citizens, becomes a tool to enslave the people. This enslavement of the people doesn’t just happen overnight, but slowly as what should be the responsibility of the citizen is allowed by the citizens to be assumed by the government. Sadly, and often too late, by the time the citizen realizes what is happening they have lost their freedom and have sold their birthright. In other words, before the people are aware of what is happening to them, if National Health Care is upheld by the Supreme Court, they will have lost their freedom to control their own health! Their bodies will become government property, completely controlled by government. That’s what is happening currently in these United States of America. PPACA is government's attempt to take control over the health of each citizen of these United States. First they will require every citizen to have health insurance. What this health insurance will cover will be dictated by government. Then government will require insurance companies to cover, without extra cost, ever more things. When the insurance companies can no longer make a profit because costs are greater than premium payments, insurance companies will go out of business and government will be the only entity left to provide health insurance. That is one of the dirty goals of PPACA. Once this happens, government will determine who is worthy of receiving treatment and who is not. Because of the unsustainable high costs of treating disease, rationing will have to be put into place, and the elderly will be the first to be denied services because they are no longer able to work and pay taxes. The elderly are a drag in a socialist society. President Obama has already expressed that in order to minimize health care costs the elderly who need expensive treatments should be given a pill rather than obtain expensive treatment. This all reminds me of the story of the frog who was placed into a pot containing cold water. The frog became very comfortable in that cold water until the pot was placed on a stove burner and slowly heated. By the time the frog realized what was happening to it, the water was boiling, and the frog was no longer able to jump out of the pot. The frog died because it did not realize what was happening to it until it was too late.

Don't I have a right to health care?

There are some today telling us that Health Care is a “right” that ought to be provided by government. But in America, government is supposed to be controlled by “We the People”, with its only power given it by the citizens, citizens who at the ballot box determine who will run government. How can government afford to provide its citizens with “Health Care”? It CAN’T! In order for government to provide health care it must first take the money from the people in the form of taxes and then dole it back to the people as government sees fit. The only money government has to spend has to be first taken from taxpaying working people. In America, nearly 50% of the people pay no taxes. That means that those who pay taxes are thus subsidizing the health care costs of the non-tax-paying citizen, even the health care costs of those who have entered our country illegally. This is financially unsustainable. As sickness increases due to poor diet and lifestyle, health care costs increase, and the monies paid in taxes by working Americans becomes insufficient to cover costs. As ever increasing sums of money are required to pay the costs of health care, ever more money needs to be borrowed (from China), eventually resulting in national bankruptcy. As in the frog illustration above, PPACA is the beginning of the end for each citizen who desires to live in freedom rather than slavery. Once citizens are required to look to government for their health care, that person’s body becomes government property. Government control of a person’s body is socialism, a giant step toward communism, a system where government controls everything.

What is the eventual result of National Health Care?

PPACA will force every citizen of these United States to turn their bodies over to a government that, rather than having their best interest at heart, is increasingly trying to exert ever more control over the people. As this happens, America ceases to be “The land of the FREE”! PPACA will bring disunity to the people of our great land. Currently the nation is divided on the issue of National Health Care. One side wants government to provide their health care, while the other side wants government to butt-out and allow the people to be responsible for their own health care. Surveys show that over 60% of the American people oppose PPACA. Our own poll on this Health Tip showed the following results:

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on National Health Care. How would you rule?

• Rule the entire act unconstitutional (86%, 1,235 Votes)
• Uphold the act (7%, 106 Votes)
• Rule only the mandate unconstitutional (4%, 62 Votes)
• Have no opinion (3%, 28 Votes)
• Total Voters 1,431

The Supreme Court of these United States is currently deliberating on the constitutionality of PPACA. Its ruling will be made public in early June. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of PPACA, it will result in the people of America losing one of their greatest freedoms – the ability of each individual to control their own body and health. If upheld, it will be a giant step toward turning America into a socialist nation. If this happens, Greece is an sobering example of what we have to look forward to. If the Supreme Court strikes down PPACA, it will be a giant step in restoring the freedoms of the people of this great land and a giant step away from socialism. May God help us! PRAY!

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)

Next week the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, I will share a solution to our current dilemma concerning health care. Trust you will join us!