When the government runs things

I think everyone agrees there are lots of problems with the health care system -- insurance companies can be awful to work with, it's really hard to be covered if you don't have a job, it's very expensive even if you do have a job, and the market gets distorted because people sometimes stay in their jobs, even if they'd be better off elsewhere, solely for fear of losing benefits. Et cetera. But the government taking over everything isn't going to work. Just think about your ordinary experiences with the DMV. You want those guys reviewing every doctor's visit and minor procedure for whether it's going to be covered or not? Do you want the government reviewing all of your private medical records generally? (It's not even working out now for the major healthcare area the government already controls, Medicare.) Furthermore, everyone (from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to the New York Times to the president himself) understands that the implied "free" nature of universal coverage is a myth. It's going to cost $1 trillion over the next ten years, just to start. The bill's not done yet; probably it will end up costing $4 trillion. That's all going to come from us taxpayers; a $600 billion tax hike is part of the plan already. Even if we pony up, though (not that we'll have a choice), we aren't going to be happy with what we get for it. One health care consultant writes here about how, if the current health care "reform" bill passes, all our experiences will be worse off -- and fast.

Fortunately, if all these facts are publicized, this bill (unlike the major spending bonanzas rammed through earlier this year) has a chance of being slowed or stopped. That's good -- we need a better alternative than the one we're getting now.