Government fails too often to be trusted

Michael A. Donnelly, Las Vegas

Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.

As a basis for universal health care, it has been pointed out that millions of American seniors think Medicare is a wonderful system.

It may be, but Medicare has been cutting services for years and is broke, or soon will be broke. It is a system that has worked until now because, when President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law, most Americans were not expected to reach age 65.

It is true that the government’s plan will not cover illegal immigrants. It will not matter. They will still show up at both private and public emergency rooms and be provided medical services.

At public hospitals, those deficits will be paid for by local taxpayers. At private hospitals, those deficits will be made up by increased costs to the consumer, who can pay, and the insurance companies.

It also has been pointed out that abortions will not be paid for by federal money. True. They will be paid for by premiums paid into the public health care system. Sounds like a case of semantics to me.

Government’s record has been dismal, at best, as to its oversight on any of the systems it runs. How are the wars on drugs and illiteracy doing? Did the Securities and Exchange Commission stop the Madoff and Stanford scams? Did Rep. Barney Frank’s committee save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? How many banks have failed the past two years despite the federal oversight? The list is endless.

Many steps have been offered to our elected officials that would reduce heath care costs dramatically, such as, but not limited to, tort reform and enforcing immigration laws. Public health care should be a last resort.