Protecting our Most Important Piece of Personal Property

By Dale Weckbacher

The economic engine of the United States is an example of success for the world. In just 233 years the nation has went from an idea expressed on paper by the framers of the Declaration of Independence to a world economic super power.

A contributing factor to the economic success of the United States has been its view of personal property rights. Laws in the United States have allowed individuals to have full ownership of the fruits of their labors. This has served as an incentive for hard working Americans to work even harder contributing to the nation’s economic growth but personal property is much more than the things we accumulate through our hard labor. The most important piece of personal property we own is our bodies.

Without healthy bodies it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to work and share in the economic opportunities offered by the United States. However, the rights of individuals to healthcare that helps them maintain good health is now threatened. This threat does not come from outside this country but is from within through the public healthcare option now under consideration in the Congress.

Close examination of this bill reveals that it is not the introduction of a public option, which will compete with private health insurance, but a plan, which will incrementally introduce single payer healthcare to the United States. On page 16, the legislation prohibits private insurers from enrolling new members and if members make changes to their coverage, they automatically move to the public option. This will incrementally drive private insurers out of business and result in everyone being on the public plan.

Canada and England now have single payer plans that are running over budget leading to the rationing of care and long waits for healthcare procedures due to a shortage of individuals going into the healthcare profession. Canadians come to the United States for healthcare in order to escape the Canadian single payer system. The question to ask is do we want to see the high quality healthcare system in the United States degrade into a failed single payer system like the one in Canada and England.

What the recent heated town hall debates have shown us is that the answer to the question is no. Americans like the current quality of the healthcare system but they are concerned about the rising costs. However, they do not want to reduce healthcare costs by turning control of the healthcare system over to the government. Instead, they would like more choices such as they currently have with auto insurance. This will empower patients to seek out coverage that best suits their needs.

In addition to the incremental phasing out of private coverage, the public option also moves the decision-making power of patients’ health care from their doctor to a Health Benefits Advisory Committee. This committee will report to the President and determine the level of coverage offered by the public option. Since we all will eventually be on the public option, they will eventually have control over everyone’s healthcare. This will mean that control over our bodies, our most valuable piece of personal property, will be in the government’s hands.

We must act now to stop passage of healthcare reform that institutes a public option by contacting our congressperson, senator, and the President. Let them know that just as many of them support a woman’s freedom of choice over her body by allowing abortions, we want to maintain control over our bodies by being free to make our own healthcare decisions. Links to finding your congressperson, senator, and contacting the White House are in the Internet links on this blog. Do not hesitate contact them today.