Capitol Report: Healthcare …which path will we choose?

An affordable high quality healthcare system is vital to the future of our state and our nation. As the cost for healthcare has sky-rocketed, it has placed an enormous financial strain on our economy causing both employers and employees to have fewer dollars available to meet their financial needs. While we all agree it is time to find sustainable solutions to our healthcare crisis, the path to these solutions may become one of the most important decisions of our lifetime.

For decades, our nation has struggled to deal with the growing financial demands place upon our economy by the exploding cost of healthcare. To date, the solution to this crisis has been governmental mandates forcing doctors and hospitals to treat patients regardless of whether or not they are willing to pay, creating greater government mandates for insurance companies (which drives up costs), and expanding the eligibility limits of government programs aimed at providing healthcare at little to no costs for those who qualify. Although the intentions may have been noble, the results have been devastating. Today, most providers experience tremendous cost shifts forcing them to use the proceeds of private paying customers (both insurance and personal paid) to cover the costs of those who will not pay and the shortfall of governmental funded programs which normally pay the provider at a rate below their costs. This practice has resulted in extraordinary cost increases (for example, an aspirin that cost $5) to the point that we as a nation can no longer afford this direction.

The alternative is a path that empowers individuals with more information about their health conditions, the quality of their healthcare providers, and the costs of their decisions. It is a path that aligns the financial decisions of individuals with the costs of healthcare and then trusts people to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Quite simply, the alternative path will empower individuals to be informed consumers who will make decisions based on their needs.

The current path is not working and if we keep doing what we are doing, we are going to keep getting what we have been getting. If we do not change directions, we are at risk of creating a healthcare environment that stifles innovation and advancement. It is time to get government out of the way and empower individuals in a competitive healthcare market.

(Brad Lager represents the 12th District in the Missouri Senate, which includes the following counties: Atchison, Nodaway, Worth, Harrison, Mercer, Holt, Andrew, Gentry, Daviess, Grundy, Sullivan, DeKalb, Clinton, Caldwell, Livingston and Linn. You may reach Sen. Lager at his Capitol room office: 573-751-1415.)