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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Frank Pastore :: Townhall.com Columnist
No More Free Lunch at the Health Care Buffet
by Frank Pastore
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Poll
Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


The best way to do this is with money, either in the form of cash or credit.

After all, if we want people to save for college or retirement, we offer them a tax-free IRA.

If we want people to buy houses, we allow them to deduct the mortgage interest from their taxable income.

And, if we want people to save money for health care, we should let them open a tax-free Health Savings Account.

And, if we want them to buy health insurance, we should allow them to deduct the health insurance premiums.

Put simply, if we want people to lead healthier lives, we need to give them the incentive to do so. The message has got to be, “An unhealthy life costs you money, a healthy life saves you money.” If you lead a “high risk” lifestyle, you should expect to pay a higher premium on your health insurance than someone who is more health conscious.

If good drivers with clean records can get a discount on their auto insurance, then why can’t those who lead a healthy life get a discount on their health insurance?

This isn’t discrimination, it’s the market doing what it does best: analyzing risk and fixing cost.

We’ve got to come up with a way for the poor to take ownership of their health care and the best way I know of to do this is with money.

If we don’t do this, I’m afraid liberals will convince a majority of voters that HillaryCare is our only option “for the poor,” and we’re going to lose the best health care system in the world.

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About The Author
The Frank Pastore Show is heard in Los Angeles weekday afternoons on 99.5 KKLA and on the web at kkla.com, and is the winner of the 2006 National Religious Broadcasters Talk Show of the Year. Frank is a former major league pitcher with graduate degrees in both philosophy of religion and political philosophy.
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 29, 2007 - 12:17 AM EST
Cont

A women wrote Ronald Reagan of her hardship and he immediately mailed her a $5K check. He didn’t demand Congress steal money to give to her.

The Bible was written to the individual and all charity is individual where it is said, you take care of the poor, you give a drink, and you nurse to health.

I worked 105hrs/wk all my life so I could help others. Why don’t you double your work week and then you can use half your income to help the poor?

LAWriter writes: 28, 2007 4:50 PM
Frank doesn't oppose the "government run" health care that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have RIGHT NOW. Because they are white and wealthy GOPers?

Actually, America is ranked 37 out of 91 countries in health care world wide according to a study done by the World Health Organization:


DESKJOCKEY WRITES

Isn’t Condi Rice on that plan also? Bush increased national health more than anyone since FDR. Isn’t the WHO a Marxist operation that hates AmeriKa and promote communism & giver-ment health care?

Yes, Frank is wrong because there should be no Fed health care and that is why our founders didn’t provide for it. The reason we have CEO run health care is because of our current giver-ment legislation started in WWII. Get the giver-ment out of it and the corporate plans stop. Once they stop the market explodes no different than when we got giver-ment out of the phone business with ATT or the airline business. What happen to phone rates? Well I was paying $100 per month with long distance and 25 years later I pay $8.50/mth with digital unlimited LD and every feature available that even ATT can’t offer. Imagine health care dropping in cost like that. As Noble social economist Milton Friedman said, if you put the giver-ment in charge of the desert, in two years you’ll have no sand. Oh talking about delivering babies, England now will not deliver them any longer. The system can’t afford it so they are instructing folks to use midwives. No sand.

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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 28, 2007 - 11:54 PM EST
LAWriter writes: 28, 2007 4:50 PM

BTW, 47 million uninsured Americans WILL infect the 253 million insured over and over with disease, but Frank never mentions that either.

DESKJOCKEY WRITES
There are only about 2.7 million uninsured that are making less than $50K/yr, not illegal, not on other giver-ment medical programs. Therefore these folks just walk into the hospital for free care or use one of the free social service programs in town. And these uninsured should not be forced to have insurance they clearly don’t want. If they want it they'll buy it and not buy entertainment centers, Nikes, go to movies, dinner, buy a car, etc. It is merely a value judgment.

LAWriter writes: 28, 2007 4:50 PM
You'd think someone who professes to be a Christian, as Frank does, would place human life above the almighty dollar.

DESKJOCKEY WRITES
The Christian follows the Bible not Socialist redistribution schemes. No where in the Bible do we see collectivism or giver-ment instructed to provide care. The Christians provide this to their church members and very close neighbors under Biblical instruction. The Good Samaritan did not call social services like a left winger and walk on by. He understood that this obligation was placed in front of himself for himself to respond to. Every Amerikan could hire their own full time doctor if we just stop all the Unconstitutional spending. That would free up $2.4Trillion a year. It is a value judgment and the public clearly wants somebody spending their money on sexual arousal during porn flick studies than on health.


LAWriter writes: 28, 2007 4:50 PM
I'm so glad my Lord and savior Jesus Christ would never place a dollar ahead of human life.

DESKJOCKEY WRITES
We need more people like you and me who feel that way and actually use our own money and seek out those in need, instead of being like those that give lip service of great concern and then let the giver-ment do it so they keep their money.
Cont
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