As Health Care Bill Stumbles the Door Remains Open for Future Foreclosure Crisis

October 28th, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure Crisis

Situation didn't change. More people are failing to pay mortgage, opening doors for foreclosure crisis

Despite high hopes that there would a radical change in the health care system itself what is going to take place will be an extension of the existing system. There will be no change in health care. The focus will be on health insurance reform. As the health care bill stumbles, thanks to lobbying by vested interests, the door remains open for future foreclosure crisis. When the people suffer they fail to pay mortgages and pull down the entire country into the throes of a crisis that benefit only the few.

The most sensible approach was one taken by Sen. Ron Wyden (Democrat) but that has been replaced by a bill initiated by Sen. Max Baucus (Democrat) – it is surfacing from the Senate Finance Committee.

The above bill centralizes power and does not allow for free choice. The latter approach would have led to decentralization. The aim of the Baucus bill is to cut down costs, expand the coverage and develop the competence by permitting the regulators to draw up an improved set of rules. It aims to make the present system more rationalized from the top to the bottom.

There are many weak spots to this approach. It keeps running the same system that is entrenched. It allows for more uniformity and greater rigidity. It disburses the income from the young who are politically disorganized to the old who are politically better organized. It crowds in the people into the complex maze of bureaucracy founded on income levels. It will place huge expenses on the ordinary people as they go up the income ladder. It has the potential to disrupt the entire economy.

The gravest defect is that it will cap any sort of innovation. Systems that work from the top down do not allow for much innovation despite cramming in Department of Health and Human Services with Innovation Centers. Innovation routes will be blocked by the use of monopoly authority with the sole aim of cutting down costs. It will also block innovation by channeling resources towards those who are under the current care and consequently the current voters. It will move away from future improvements in technology and future recipients of benefits.

Since something is better than nothing it has to be admitted that the Baucus bill at least is better than the present status quo. It will ensure social benefits to an extra 29 million people and health care will be more fiscally responsible.

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