Do you have faith:
(1) that Congress will enact legislation that will meet the seemingly conflicting goals of decreasing the cost and improving the quality of health care?
(2) that members of Congress will take the time to read and understand and to consider the unintended consequences of all 1,500 or so pages of the final health care bill before voting on it?
(3) in the decisions made by members of Congress that will affect your health care if they are unwilling to subject themselves to the same rules and regulations they will be imposing on you and on the employers and insurance companies who provide you with your health insurance?
(4) that the health care legislation passed by Congress will be fair to all American taxpayers if it continues to provide tax exemptions for those who receive their health insurance through their employers but not for those who purchase their health insurance on their own?
(5) that Congress will enact health care reform legislation without special benefits or exemptions for various groups who have donated generously to Congressional campaigns?
(6) in the government’s estimates of the cost of the health care legislation currently being considered by Congress?
(7) that the health care legislation currently being debated in Congress will reduce rather than increase the already staggering federal budget deficit?
(8) that the government can reduce Medicare spending by $400 billion to $500 billion without reducing the benefits available to Medicare beneficiaries?
(9) that the government will in fact reduce Medicare spending by $400 billion to $500 billion in order to cover a portion of the cost of health care reform legislation?
(10) that Congress can pay for health care reform in part by imposing new taxes on certain types of health care plans without affecting the behavior of the businesses and insurance companies offering those plans in such a way that the newly imposed taxes will never be collected?
(11) that you will be able to keep your current health care plan if you like it after Congress passes health care reform legislation?
(12) that the financially-strapped states will be able to add millions of people to their Medicaid roles, as mandated by Congress, without raising state taxes in order to cover the cost of those additions?
(13) that most doctors will continue to provide services to Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries if Congress further reduces the amount the government is willing to pay for such services?
(14) that bright young students, after the passage of health care reform legislation, will continue to be willing to incur substantial indebtedness and to invest an additional four to ten grueling years after graduating from college in order to become doctors?
(15) that the premiums you pay for your health insurance will not be increased as a result of new government mandates, including the requirement that all employers and insurance companies provide insurance to those with pre-existing illnesses?
(16) that the new taxes to be imposed on manufacturers of medical devices will not be passed on to the users of those devices resulting in the increased cost of health care?
(17) that investors will continue to invest in companies seeking to develop new and improved medical technologies if the government will control how much those companies can charge for their products if they are successful in developing them?
(18) that Congress has the right under the United States Constitution to impose a requirement that all American citizens purchase health insurance or pay a fine for not doing so?
(19) that the cost of health care can be controlled when most consumers of health care are not paying directly for their care and do not have an incentive to reduce their use of health care services or to shop for the most cost-effective services?
(20) that the health insurance legislation passed by Congress will not ultimately lead to a complete government takeover of the health care industry and will not ultimately lead to health care rationing?
Are you prepared to take a giant leap of faith? If you answered “yes” to at least half of the foregoing 20 questions, then I submit you are ready for a truly gigantic leap of faith.
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