The Conservative Case For Health Care Reform

I am truly having a hard time figuring out why Republicans and so called conservatives (definitely not all part of the same group these days) are opposing nearly all health insurance reform measures, often with couterfactual and contradictory arguments.

It seems that there are a lot of good reasons a Conservative would support some radical reform to our health care system.

1. The current system is a massive disincentive to start a company. Look at this chart. For all of our entrepreneurial culture, we have a pretty low self employment rate. Before you start a company, just try getting a few quotes for health insurance from the private market, and you will see why it is nearly impossible for all but the young, healthy, and rich.

2. The current system is a huge disincentive to have children. Talk about a 'Pro Life' issue. The Republican religious right is obsessed with denying all public funding for anything even vaguely abortion related, yet they never look at the other side of the equation. It is far cheaper to have an abortion than it is to have a child. Getting pregnant without a group health insurance plan that covers pregnancy and pre-existing conditions is taking a huge risk that could bankrupt families even when a child is delivered healthy, with no complications.

3. Medical bankruptcies are a massive drain on the economy. Over 60% of all bankruptcies are directly related to medical bills. Who wouldn't go into debt to save the life of a loved one? Yet these bankruptcies hurt business and consumers alike. No one wins, and certainly people's health suffer even more when they face the stress of both a life threatening illness and bankruptcy at the same time. I am waiting for conservatives and Republicans to explain how this is good for families.

Why?

Despite these incontrovertible facts, I just can't explain why there is so much opposition to health care reform from Republicans and conservatives. One easy explanation is that they want to permanently cripple Obama politically by denying him this signature achievement. A contributing factor may be the interests of the health insurance companies who are the real drain on the health care system at this point.

There are some conservatives who seem to understand the the current system is terrible, after all, Republicans and conservatives do get sick. This article gives me hope. Even more encouraging are some of the comments, which actually resemble a real debate. It turns out almost everyone in this country has an outrageous story about mistreatment by their insurance company.