In
nations where the government pays for and manages healthcare, there is always
rationing of available services. Many proposals are currently being made about
how to “change” our healthcare system, and most with great intention. But
while change is certainly needed, many of the proposed solutions could end
up having a serious impact on your access to healthcare. So this month, some
thoughts on the situation and what you can do about it.
Out of Control Government Spending
The
march of government spending continues… After 8 years, the Bush administration
has grown the budget deficit to nearly $500 billion dollars, not including
tens of billions of dollars in additional Iraq war funding. And there’s really
no sign that the Obama administration, backed by a Democratic congress, will
reverse this trend.
The
entitlement payments for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are also
a ticking time-bomb. In just 2 year, the first Baby Boomers will be able to
access Medicare, and its virtually unlimited health care. Medicare is currently
spending more than it takes in taxes, and the Medicare hospital insurance
trust fund is predicted to become insolvent by 2019.
So just to pay for current obligations, lawmakers will have to drastically
raise taxes. In the mean time they contemplate loaning billions of our tax
dollars to failing businesses, while discussing programs that will get the
federal government even more involved in our healthcare system.
The Rationing Ahead
When someone else is paying the bill, demand can soar. That is currently the
case with Medicare, in which the government covers most of the cost for these
services. (Imagine if they did the same thing for new American car purchases
– business at GM, Chrysler, and Ford would be booming, and car price inflation
would be soaring.)
So the only way government can control costs is by limiting access. This happens
everywhere that socialized medicine is the norm. One needs only to look at
Britain, where nearly a million people are on waiting lists for healthcare,
or Canada, where thousands stream into the U.S. each year to get care that
is unavailable in their own country.
This rationing can of course have serious health consequences. Per capita,
one third less people in Britain are able to get bone marrow transplants;
access to bypass surgery is seventy-five percent lower. Delays in Britain
for colon cancer treatment are so long that 20 percent of once-curable cases
are no longer so, once someone can actually get treatment.
As the federal government here in the U.S. gets more involved in healthcare,
expect to see the same increase in waiting lists and limits on services. In
fact, it’s already happening in Massachusetts, where a new government mandate
on health insurance now exists.
How to Protect Yourself
There are two factors that can help protect your access to the healthcare
you may need in the future. The first is money. Because of the extreme waits,
people in Britain so often turn to the private sector that almost one out
of every five operations are paid for out-of-pocket.
So
you want to have money available to pay for care if there are other obstacles
to access. The best way to put aside money for future medical expenses is,
of course, through your HSA. If you had a plan in place by December 1st, you
can make a contribution for 2008 – you have until April 15th. And on January
1st, you can make your 2009 contribution. Not only do you get an immediate
tax break, but the money then grows tax-deferred and is tax-free when you
withdraw it to pay for a medical expense.
The
other place that you can take personal responsibility is with your own health.
Rather than waiting for some Merck scientist to invent a pill to save you,
take control of your health – first by what you eat. In my years of studying
health and nutrition, I have learned that absolutely nothing is more powerful
than the type of food you eat.
The healthiest diet is that which we evolved to eat. Sometimes called a “hunter-gatherer”
diet, this way of eating causes people to lose weight, it reduces risk of
high blood pressure and other metabolic diseases, and will help treat and
prevent auto-immune disease. The best information on it can be found at www.ThePaleoDiet.com.
Uncle Sam to the Rescue
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just be taken care of? If there was a rich
uncle who could cover our medical expenses, pay our mortgage, and make sure
all the poorly run companies stayed in business – gee, that would be swell.
But despite all the clamoring for the government to take care of these types
of things, in the long run it won’t work out as they promise – trust me. So
take action now for yourself and your family, to be ready for whatever changes
are coming down the pike.
To your health and wealth,
Wiley
Long
President - HSA
for America
