A National Health Plan Will Manage Your Death

The coming four decades will see an increase in the number of elderly with a concomitant decline in national economic power. The misallocation of economic resources (huge investments in undesirable real estate and Wall Street) have already guaranteed the decline. Economic statistics may continue to register growth, but the question you will need to ask yourself is "Am I as well off as I was 10, 20 or 30 years ago?" The answer will be no. And it will get worse and worse.

As America is declining economically, Baby Boomers are reaching retirement. The health care system is already over-strained, absorbing 16% of the gross national product. A doubling of the elderly who can continue to demand the level of health care to which Americans are accustomed will lead to ever greater costs, 30 or 40 percent of the national economy does not seem unlikely. These costs have not been pre-funded or saved. The savings rate is nil or nearly so, and has been for decades. How can these costs be covered?

It seems to me that they cannot. In other words, in the absence of national health insurance there will be increasing prices and care will be allocated to those who can pay. If Medicaid, Medicare and private plans try to continue to cover health insurance, their costs will be staggering.

In order to limit the cost increases but achieve a rationing solution (rationing by price making Medicare unworkable), care would have to be reduced. The only way that can be done is for the government to take control of the health care system. By doing so, government edict rather than price allocation will determine who gets care and the kind of care that is given. Procedures that might cure someone but are deemed cost ineffective will be scotched. The government will manage your death, and for some the nationalization of health insurance will mean an early death. Health care does not dramatically affect life expectancy. The difference will show up in the overall statistics as maybe a few months' drop in life expectancy, if any. But obviously some people will see their lives shortened significantly.

But care will get worse, and I will bet that we will die at younger ages than our parents. Government is going into the business of deciding who lives and who dies.