Freedom to say no

In response to my last post (Kiss Your Health Care Choices Goodbye), Charles R said:

"So I am really trying hard to figure out why it's a bad thing for anyone who wants to buy into this insurance plan to do so."

I want to make it clear. Charles clearly assumes it this is voluntary. It is not. The plan under discussion will FORCE you to purchase insurance that meets with government approval. You will not have a choice to forgo insurance.

Why would anyone forgo insurance? Why does anyone forgo purchase of any other product or service?

OK, let's suppose you have determined that you are healthy and want to keep it that way by eating a paleo diet including grass fed meats. Suppose also that your income level is such that if you purchase grass fed meat, you elect to forgo medical insurance policies and take your chances on what works (a paleo diet) rather than investing in a policy that would only get you "care" from an industry (allopathic medicine) that ranks as the third largest cause of death in the U.S. and appears to know nothing about healthy eating.

What am I talking about? According to Barbara Starfield, writing in JAMA, allopathic medical treatments rendered in hospitals by licensed personnel cause at least 225,000 deaths annually, due to nonerror adverse drug effects, medication errors, other errors, unnecessary surgeries, and hospital-acquired infections. Starfield also cited an analysis indicating that between 4% and 18% of consecutive outpatients experience adverse effects of medical treatments, resulting in 116 million extra physican visits, 77 million extra prescriptions, 17 million emergency department visits, 8 million hospitalizations, 3 million long-term admissions, 199,000 additional deaths, and $77 billion in extra costs. [Starfield B. Is US Health Really the Best in the World? JAMA, July 26, 2000;284(4);483-85]

That's more than 400,000 deaths annually caused by allopathic medical care. In comparison, only about 50,000 people die in auto accidents annually. Do you think those medical errors drive up the cost of medical care? Sure enough, and more insurance won't change it. Fundamentally our medical system is off course.

Now Obamacare comes along and says you have to purchase a government approved plan that covers hazard-ridden allopathic services you don't want (e.g. flu immunizinations, cholesterol tests, and deadly statins) but doesn't cover real health care that you do want (e.g. VT-D tests and supplements and grass fed meat).

The cost of Obamacare increases your taxes and insurance expenditures such that you now can't afford to purchase grass-fed meat. You have to get the insurance or pay a large fine (I've seen quotes up to $3200) or go to jail.

You can't make the choice you determined the best for yourself because Obama determined that you need unnecessary immunizations, cholesterol tests, and statins, rather than necessary VT-D and grass fed meat. Its a boon for the drug companies, cholesterol labs, and the big insurance corporations (because people who previously opted out will now be forced to purchase their products if not the government product).

Now, because you were forced to buy insurance you didn't want, you can't buy the food you do want. You are now more likely to end up needing medical care.

Bureaucrats generally don't know anything about health care; they listen to the people who peddle immunizations (instead of VT-D), statins (instead of species-appropriate diet), and insurance. I don't want them determining what I do with my dollars, how I maintain my health, or how I get my insurance.