As usual, the far Left has used carefully crafted language to obfuscate the entire debate about...oops, I almost fell for it - using the misleading term "healthcare." Because the issue is not, and never has been "healthcare" - the medical treatment of patients. Nor is it about that old stand-by "access to medical care." EVERYBODY in America has access to ANY medical care that they desire - the real issue is:

WHO IS GOING TO PAY THE BILL.

Talk to anyone who has a complaint about American medicine and you will find that it always comes down to something like: "well, yes, we have excellent medical care in America...BUT it's so expensive." Unlike any other service or product in life, when it comes to their medical bills, a huge percentage of people now seem to think that someone else should pay. Which of course makes them easy dupes of the neo-socialists that make up the majority of today's Democratic Party, and who are more than willing to "prescribe" BIG GOVERNMENT as the cure for whatever ails you.

The problem is that whenever the cost of ANY product or service is paid by someone other than the "end user" (i.e., the patient), then demand (and price) inevitably increase. And, thanks in great part to the mandate that Doctors treat everyone who walks through the door, whether they pay or not, the cost of all this "free" medical service is passed on to...you and me. Or to our insurance company - same difference.

Imagine if every car repair business was required BY LAW to "treat" the automobile of every person who came in, whether or not they had the ability, or even the intention, of ever paying. Obviously, before too long the price of an oil change would go to $100, a new transmission would be $9000, and ANY repair would be double or triple what it is today. They would have no choice - they have to make up the losses somewhere, and those of us who pay cash or have a warranty (i.e. your car's "medical insurance") would see our costs soar.

Now imagine that in addition to having the "fix it or else" policy for car shops, we insituted Medi-CAR - government reimbursement to the shops for auto repairs made on cars owned by people "too poor" to afford warranties (insurance), or to pay for them out-of-pocket. The government would (just as in Medicare) control the amount of payment that the car repair shop would receive for each service provided. And, just as in the case of Medicare, the Medi-CAR payment would likely never come close to the amount the repairs would normally be worth.The result? When you and I go in to have the same or similar repairs, we will be charged far MORE than we were when everyone paid their own bills.

Now, there are a lot of other reasons that medical care costs a lot more today (in adjusted dollars) than it did 50 years ago, including the simple fact that we have developed wonderfully effective (and proportionately expensive) diagnostic tools like CAT scans and MRI's. There are the rampant lawsuits against Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, you name it - and when an anesthesiologist has to pay $300,000 a year just for malpractice insurance, who do you think ends up paying for it?

One of the biggest problems is the overbearing intrusive meddling by government in the health insurance industry.  Because when the government starts dictating what insurance companies must cover, whether the customer wants it or not, it forces insurers to raise premiums for everyone.

And we haven't even touched on the problem of 12 million illegal aliens and THEIR impact on the health care system...

All of these things drive up the cost, at least that is, for those of us who actually pay our own medical bills, whether out-of-pocket, or because we have purchased insurance to make sure we will be able to meet our obligations.

And that brings us to the real issue - paying for the services we use. Face it - the simple fact is that your medical bills are YOUR obligation. Not mine, not your neighbors down the street - but YOURS. Just imagine if we actually had a competitive system of delivering health care as we do in, say, LASIK eye surgery - since LASIK is not covered by most insurance plans, people have the incentive to comparison shop. And the result? Costs have plummeted - down from $6000 to less than a $1000, all thanks to competition.

A similar system for all health care services, including drugs, would see quality care at genuinely affordable pricing - because people would actually SHOP for the best care at the best price. Just last month, I needed a crown for one of my teeth. Since I do not have dental insurance, I did what any smart consumer does - I shopped around. And guess what? One clinic wanted over $1300 for the entire two-visit procedure, while another, staffed with just as many qualified dentists, and using all of the same equipment (I looked) agreed to do the entire procedure for $835 - with an unlimited free replacement guarantee. Sale made. And I'm not only happy with the work - I have $500 left in my bank account.

THAT is what a (truly) free market produces. Heck, is there the slightest doubt that WAL-MART could do an infinitely better job of delivering higher quality health care services at far more competitive prices that ANY government bureaucracy? (Hint: If you would actually trust the government more than you would a well-run American company like WAL-MART, you are already well on the road to becoming a socialist "useful idiot" anyway).

We have already seen that the more government gets involved in subsidizing (and regulating) anything, the more expensive it becomes. Now we have Medicare and Medicaid at the Federal level, and numerous taxpayer-funded subsidies for medical care at the state level, all of which dumps more money into the health services market. Yet no matter how much each new government program drives up costs and lowers the quality of care, today's liberal socialists always prescribe MORE government, not less.

And spare me the canard about healthcare being a "right" - you already have a right to any health care you can pay for. What you really mean is "I have a right to have my health care bills paid by my fellow Americans." We don't even talk about FOOD as a right, even though that while it is possible to go years, even decades, without ever seeing a doctor, you can't go more than a week without food.

True, we have a voucher system for the truly indigent (food stamps), but we do not for a moment believe that everyone has the "right" to lobster or filet mignon that is paid for by the tax payers. Yet when it comes to health care bills, that is exactly what the socialists demand - "filet mignon" health care for everyone, even the bottom 40% of people who pay NO INCOME TAXES AT ALL.

Come to think of it, a voucher system for the truly poor (not the millions of Americans who make over $50,000 a year but choose to not have insurance) could work remarkably well - they could shop for the best coverage at the best price, and insurance companies, having to compete for their dollars, would keep prices competitive. And, in a truly free market (not the quasi-government regulated mess we have now), insurance companies and patients would be able to keep doctors and hospital prices in check.

But none of this will work as long as people know they can waltz into any emergency room and walk out without paying, or sign up for Medicare (or the equivalent state program) and have you and me pay their bills.

When will we ever learn....