Government Health Care

Well, before we condemn the idea let's take a look at other government bureaucracies and give them an accounting in order to fairly anticipate how government run health care might turn out. Let's keep the list to departments which are supposed to directly serve the people as a health care system would try to do so we're talking lemons and lemons.

Let's start with the most recently created department, the Transportation Safety Administration, (aka - Those Standing Around).

• In a few short years, the TSA has turned a relatively enjoyable experience chock full of customer service amenities into an environment where anyone flying today feels more like extremely dis-respected cattle. I would cite examples such as the young woman who was given a pair of pliers and ordered to remove her nipple rings or she wouldn't be flying. I'd have told the bastard to go fuck himself, but maybe she was flying as part of her job and would get fired if she didn't show up on client site. Like nipple rings in the hands of a young woman, or anyone for that matter are a threat even to an injured bird.
• Well, you might say, these procedures are necessary. They are not. Example, Heathrow Airport security procedures are extremely effective, have been in place long before any American knew what a drown rat looking jihadist was, and remain pretty much behind the scenes as opposed to some asshole in your face. Just don't leave your bags unattended or they'll end up in a large steel box and blown to smithereens.
• No doubt this department costs taxpayers billions each year and does nothing useful - since tests of the system very often Fail, resulting in all manner of fake bombs and other weapons sliding right by Those Standing Around.
• Score.
  1. Usefulness = 0
  2. Customer Service = 0
  3. Cost Effectiveness = 0

TSA Score = Negative Numbers

How about the Post Office.

• Recently the post office declared a crisis because the volume of mail has dropped to lower levels due to E-mail and On Line Bill Pay. Hey, who'd a thunk it right? These services have only been around for the last 12 years or so. Given that and the fact that E-mail allows people to communicate with each other or pay a bill in the Blink of an Eye without worrying if a payment will arrive on time, I can see how the post office only recently identified E-mail, Online Bill Pay and all manner of other communications like marketing, spam, advertising and such as a potential threat to their revenue stream. Not.
• Here's a department that's been around a long time and should have some seasoned management folks, who anyone in their right mind would assume, might be able to anticipate what affect the internet would have on their income as long as 10 years ago.
• Given that the post office only moves paper and packages, tracks forwarding addresses and such, I wouldn't consider it as equating to people's diverse and complex medical needs, so it's not a great tell into the HC world although its lack of foresight is disturbing as it may apply to government run health care. It does a good job of what it does on ITS time, and a poor job of what it tries to do on YOUR time. A critical component of customer satisfaction I'd say.
• Score
  1. Usefulness = 7, since a necessary service is provided. Not everyone has a computer, etc. It will be around a while.
  2. Customer Service = 5. While any postal worker I've ever met on the street was downright friendly. left me with a great impression, the folks in the office handling the walk in trade, while generally friendly, do not operate in a customer service oriented manner. They are understaffed, and because of the union, tend to take breaks or go to lunch on the lunch hour when most people requiring hands on service have a chance themselves to go to the post office. So, home delivery people score 10, the office experience is about 0, avg=5.
  3. Cost Effectiveness = 5. I don't think it loses money though I doubt it adds anything back.

Department of Welfare and it's associated programs like WIC

First off, the Case Workers must all be saints. They deal with the least educated, often criminal, mentally and emotionally unsound, often low personal hygienic people in America.

But let's focus on the productivity and customer service aspect of this organization.

• It enslaves millions of people. Instead of steering them into productive satisfying lives, it locks them into a life of dependency, their nose just above the water line.
• Programs like WIC amount to paying people for child abuse. They reward women for having babies out of wedlock. If you want more of something, reward it. The babies grow up in drug infested, low quality, opportunity starved environments. Child abuse.
• Score

1. Usefulness = 1. I'd score zero, but you could make the argument that it's better than letting people die. Then again, maybe not.
2. Customer Service = 0 for already mentioned torture and enslavement factor.
3. Cost Effectiveness = 0 Well Duh! Not only does it not do anything about reducing its liabilities, it actually works hard and spends money to increase the number of its liabilities (recipients)

Department of Defense

• I have to admit, this is my favorite government entity. Keep in mind though that not only does the DOD protect us, it protects the politicians. This is the sole reason it scores so well. A health care plan does not affect the politicians because they will maintain a totally different solution for their health care, one that works, as opposed to ours which will quickly become as worthless as pelosi in a strip joint.
• Score

1. Usefulness = 10. Without it, we'd be slaves of some assholes, or having to defend ourselves against all manner of WMD in the hands of lunatics.
2. Customer Service = 10 - They try to kill their customers as quickly as possible. Though it's worth noting that the vast majority of their customers end up dead.
3. Cost Effectiveness = 2 - A Trillion $ Budget. Are you kidding me? 1/3rd of the national budget of 3 trillion until obama came along and increased the budget to 3.8 trillion. I love our military, each and every one, but the individuals don't make enough and there is way too much money tossed into things that may never be used.

Department of Energy

• Are you kidding me ? Its mission is to decrease our dependency on foreign energy (that'd be oil mainly). The department has been in existence over 40 years, has accomplished jack shit and has a multi-billion dollar yearly budget.
• Score

1,2 and 3 = Zero, Zero, Zero.

VA Hospital

• Are you kidding me? And this is an entity which is supposed to be serving those who were injured and/or made disabled in service to the country. And you think they are going to consider YOUR worthless liberal ass better than these folks ?
• Score
  • Zero, Zero, and Zero.

Medicare

• It has served folks well up until now, but the health care reform plan calls for cutting its budget by 50 %, right at a time when baby boomers are about to flood the system.
• Increase Demand and Decrease Supply. I don't have to think about that equation long to tell you that its backwards.
• Score
  1. Usefulness = 10. Older people need the bulk of health care services.
  2. Customer Service = 7, up until the non-health care bill gets passed if and when, then it will go to zero.
  3. Cost effectiveness = 0. Medicare is the largest victim of fraud.

So, can someone name a government department, existing to serve the people, that does so economically, and with a flair for customer service ?

The solutions for health care are simple:

• Tort Reform. If your wife gets killed in a plane crash, they send you 150,000 or whatever it is today. I'm not going to look it up, as it doesn't matter. It's a small number and you have no recourse to sue any further. So, why can medical mishaps, real or imagined result in multi-Billion dollar awards to a single individual. The cost of this hits every entity in the health care industry. They all have to pay for malpractice insurance (doctors, hospitals - outrageous sums of money per year that You end up paying) and companies like drug companies have to sock away huge sums of money in escrow accounts in case they get sued and lose. You pay that. Put reasonable limits on medical lawsuits.
• Insurance provider reform - 1.) Allow open competition 2.) Allow policies to be written for major medical only. I'll pay the full cost of my doctor visits and my doctor will have 99% less bullshit paperwork to do and can even charge me less for that as a result. Don't believe me? The cost for operations not covered under insurance like nose and boob jobs has not increased in 30 years because those operations are cash on the barrelhead. In addition, imagine if your car insurance had a dealer 'co-pay' for you going in every time you heard a squeak or needed to have a light bulb changed or air in your tires. Imagine what that car insurance would cost you. That's our medical plan today.

These two things alone would Fix healthcare.