If I Were Rich...

Wouldn't it be great to be rich? You wouldn't need to worry about paying the bills or worry where your next meal was going to come from. You could afford your prescription drugs and any other medical treatment. I'm not talking millionaire rich, I am talking hundred millionaire rich. And in many ways money frees people from worry. It also frees them from the need of insurance, since whatever happens they will have enough money just to pay for it out of pocket. Now, it normally makes sense to buy insurance to protect what you have whether it be your home or your health, your life or long term care costs. But none of these are required to be purchased through third parties. Well Except for health insurance in 2014.

Now there has been a lot of discussion about the freedoms we are loosing as part of the health care bill but to me the best illustration of the treachery is the example that follows. There is a rich man who has well over 100 Million Dollars. He is 62 and the year is 2013, he has just learned that he has cancer. The man does not have insurance but since he is rich he can afford to pay for all the services and procedures he needs out of pocket. After a year of treatments he beats the cancer at a cost of 3 Million dollars. He saw the best doctors in the best hospitals. The year is now 2014 and he is required to buy health insurance even though his fortune has grown to 125 million. If he fails to buy something which in this case he doesn't need, since he can afford any medical cost, he can be fined by the IRS up to three percent. So three percent of the 25 million that he made in the past year is 750k. He refuses to pay it since he does not need the insurance so he is thrown in jail for not complying with the IRS law. This most certainly could happen if you had a ballsy rich guy. I wish I had the money because this is something I would personally like to do. Except for the cancer part. This example exposes the tyranny of this legislation for what it really is. Tyranny.

Cut Healthcare Costs

Soooo, Healthcare. It is finally law. And whatever you think about the outcome I keep coming back to the fact that the primary effect of this legislation does not focus on cutting costs. Obama has said that the primary purpose of this legislation is to bend the cost curve. If this was the true focus they could have bent the curve far more effectivly. I never really heard anyone break down what the costs of healthcare actually are. The main costs that are nessassary to deliver any health care are salarys, offices, equipment and administration. You need Dr.s and nurses. You need a hospital or an office. You need bandages and scales. Stethascopes and more. And finally insurance administration which helps reduce fraud in the system and ensures people can afford very expensive procedures. This can be through private insurance companies or through the government. Obama thinks that the problems lie in the administrative side of the equation. The insurance companies are the only part of the process that try to control costs.

Maybe a better way to adress the problem of costs is to look at the actuall delivery of health care. I believe that the single largest problem with the healthcare system today is that the shortage of doctors is driving up salarys. The average hospitalist MD makes 256k per year. Average. Some make more. And they only work one week on one week off. So for 6 months of work they get this type of salary. This is a salaryed job. I understand that the education required is intense but I refuse to believe that this is the natural market price. The real problem is that we dont have enough medical schools to meet the needs of the baby boomer generation. And guess who controls to Medical School accredidation process. Doctors. Through the 17 member Liason Committee on Medical education made up of doctors and medical educators who have a vested interest in keeping supply of doctors low. Since they will make more in the future. Increase the number of medical schools. If the AMA does not want to comply the government has the obligation to ensure that manipulation of the system is not possible. The AMA along with the AAMA are robing the american people. Making huge houses for themselves. Buying boats. Its just way to much money. Their is a market failure which comes out of the fact the federal government allows the AMA to do basically whatever it wants. It is like letting FINRA run the financial industry rather then the SEC. Lets fix this problem which in part is related to the monopoly the AMA holds. I am not advocating breaking up the AMA but it does not more effective oversite. I will try to find more ways to save money in the future but if you dont think more doctors would reduce the cost of health care let me know.