S3 E29: Free Healthcare is NOT the Problem. It's Not the Solution Either

At least eight different categories of people receive some or all of their healthcare free, at taxpayers expense. Politicians call our system broken, while they ask for even more free programs.  Others protest that free healthcare is too expensive.

Critics of the US cite the systems in other countries as evidence that we should change. But many other countries, like France have – not a single-payer system – but a combination of government and private insurance.  The system in France is more comprehensive, but that is not the reason they are more successful.

The big difference between France and the US is not the healthcare system; it’s the tax system.  It’s not who draws out.  It’s who pays in.

Commentary on trending issues brought to you with a moderate perspective.

Transcript

Do you think healthcare is too expensive? Do you think it should be free? Find out how much cheaper healthcare would be if it weren't free, today, on the 10th man.

/ Healthcare is expensive because it's already free, for most voters, but it's not free in the way you might think. Right now. 180 million Americans receive health care for free or at someone else's expense. Sounds like I'm going to criticize free health care, right? [00:01:00] Not so fast. Because the real problem isn't who gets it, it's who pays for it.

Let's start where everyone expects me to, the eight groups who get free health care. We'll walk through them one by one. Some might frustrate you. Some might seem fair. But as we go, keep asking yourself, is this the big problem?

Before we get into the groups, let's address two common misconceptions. Myth number one is that single payer health care would solve all this. That's not true, or it's not necessarily true, no matter how you feel about the topic. England, for example, has single payer. France does not. France funds its health care with both private plans with premiums and public plans paid through steep [00:02:00] taxes.

And remember this, 20 percent of the U. S. federal budget already goes to government health care programs, like Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Benefits. If federal involvement alone solved problems, we'd already be there.

Myth number two is that the Affordable Care Act fixed it. No, the ACA increased federal involvement, gave us rising premiums, and padded the profits of private insurers like UnitedHealthcare. But dissatisfaction with service is growing, and costs continue climbing. With that, let's move to the groups receiving the free health care.

First are the Native Americans. The Indian Health Service, the IHS, has existed since the 1950s, providing health care to 2. 8 million people. This [00:03:00] care is minimal and often inaccessible. Not all Indians even use it. Are Native Americans the big problem? For more information, visit www. fema. gov No, they're productive citizens who pay taxes like everyone else.

They get free care. But this isn't the big problem. Next come the homeless. Ever since emergency rooms became free for uninsured patients, hospitals are required to treat the homeless. Minimal care, yes. They only provide emergency care to stabilize a patient.

And it's also expensive care when untreated conditions lead to repeated visits . Free painkillers would be the only thing worse than this. The homeless population is large, about a half million. But they're not the biggest issue. This still isn't the big problem. [00:04:00] Then there's our college students. Now we're getting somewhere.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 7 million students stay on their parents health plans until age 26. That's up from age 22, the old college graduation age. The students get Cadillac care with mental health services, birth control, abortions, and even gender transition procedures. Being on the parent's plan sounds harmless, but that cost gets spread across everyone's plan.

This is a problem. Students receive top tier care while they're the least doing anything to earn it. They're not working. They're not paying taxes. And ironically, they're often the loudest voices demanding even more free programs. But [00:05:00] is it THE big problem? Now let's talk about the veterans. Veterans arguably earned their health care.

Only one third of veterans even use VA services though. Most rely on private insurance or Medicare. Veterans are not the issue here.

What about the convicts? America incarcerates 2 million people. More than any other nation. Convicts get not just free health care, but free housing and free meals. By definition, they don't pay taxes. Like students, it's the ultimate free ride. Their care isn't great, but taxpayers do foot the bill. Their sheer numbers make it a unique problem to the U.

S. But is this [00:06:00] the big problem? No, so let's keep going. What about illegal immigrants? 11 million illegal immigrants live in the U. S., outnumbering the homeless by 20 to 1. They receive emergency room care, some taxpayer funded state programs, and in some states, comprehensive coverage. Like convicts, many illegal immigrants have their living expenses covered while contributing nothing in taxes.

This might seem like the biggest problem so far, but is it? Keep that question in mind. We're almost finished, but let's discuss Medicaid recipients. That's free health care for the poor. 92 million Americans, or roughly 25 to 30 percent of the population, receive free health care through Medicaid, [00:07:00] and that's up because of the Affordable Care Act.

This group also benefits from other safety nets. Section 8 housing, food stamps, heating assistance, and more, all funded by other taxpayers. You might think that's the big problem. I have an issue with it, I admit. But, caring for the poor in a wealthy country like ours isn't necessarily the issue. We don't all agree with it, but we can afford it.

Finally, there's Medicare recipients. Seniors on Medicare get hospitalization, Medicare Part A, for free. If they need surgery, tests, or procedures, it's all covered while they're in the hospital. But everything else, prescriptions, vision, dental, requires purchased coverage. [00:08:00] Medicare isn't truly free. Its recipients pay for most of their coverage out of their Social Security checks.

So Medicare isn't the problem. So what is the real problem? The biggest problem isn't who receives free health care. It's who's paying for it. Or more importantly, who isn't paying for it. Here's what you don't hear often enough, that bit of common knowledge that most people know or should know, but no one talks about.

In the United States. You don't pay federal income taxes unless you earn over 30, 000. Compared to France, where you start paying income tax if you earn anything over just 12, 000 euros.

The American may earn two and one half times what the [00:09:00] French citizen earns before he has to pay any federal income tax. And that's the only tax that's used to fund health care programs. And thanks to something called the Earned Income Tax Credit, millions of Americans not only pay nothing, they get money back.

That's not a tax refund, it's a transfer payment. Peter pays, and Paul gets the check. In some years, the majority of income earners in the U. S. pay no federal income tax at all. Yet, these same people Vote for more free health care programs. Alexis de Tocqueville came here from France in 1831 to study democracy.

He concluded, Democracy will fail once the people realize they can vote themselves money. [00:10:00] Is democracy threatened? Let's do some quick math. There are 200 million registered voters in America. 92 million are on Medicaid. Seven million students are on their parents plans. That's 100 million people, half of the electorate, receiving free health care while paying little to nothing in taxes.

Looks like the people are voting themselves money. How sustainable is that? People might say Americans are greedy. People might say European countries are generous because they provide universal health care. That's true, but Europeans also have greedy tax policies. The middle class and rich pay much higher rates than in America, as everyone knows. But more important, [00:11:00] everyone pays in, even low income workers.

Everyone has a stake in it. That's how they can afford generous programs.

Insurance, by definition, is shared risk . If you're not sharing others risk while they share yours, it's not insurance, it's charity. And the ones getting charity will be the first to abuse the system because it costs them nothing. So when healthcare costs skyrocket, who's really to blame? The people demanding free services?

or the fact that they're not paying into the system. /Healthcare isn't expensive because we don't have enough government programs. It's expensive because too many people are taking without contributing. The real difference between America and Europe [00:12:00] isn't healthcare policy. It's tax policy. Europeans pay in. Americans don't, and that's why health care costs so much. Thank you for listening.