What Cash for Clunkers Teaches Us About Health Care

When something is "free," people will snap it up.

It's really that simple. When someone gets something for nothing, they tend to snatch up as much of that something as they can. In this case, they got $4,500.00 off the purchase price of their new car, not including any further discount offered by the dealers. (I've seen ads where the dealers offer up to an additional $4,500.00. $9,000.00 off the price of a new car is a pretty big discount.)

So, predictably, people have been rushing out to avail themselves of this hand-out.

Translate that into health care.

Have you been putting off going to the doctor for nagging problems because you have a high deductible on your insurance policy? Perhaps your co-pay is high? Maybe your coverage only pays 80% and you have to pay the other 20%? Maybe you don't have insurance at all and you have to wait in the emergency room for whatever care you receive?

What if it was all free?

Dick Morris opines that the question to ask your legislators is "How can you cover 50 million more people without increasing the number of doctors?"

He misses the point.

No one in America (including illegal aliens) is denied access to medical care in America. Everyone has access. Those with high deductibles, large co-pays, or no insurance at all may not be availing themselves of it, but that isn't because it isn't there. It's just too expensive or too inconvenient to access for every minor inconvenience.

That wouldn't be true if universal health care were passed. Everyone would be able to make an appointment to be seen in a doctor's office (as opposed to being forced to wait in the emergency room for your child's cold) -- regardless of how minor the ailment (or perceived ailment) actually is.

So, what would happen?

Well, they'd make those appointments, wouldn't they?

Now, where are we going to get all the doctors to see all these patients who, if they had to pay for the service out of their pocket (or inconvenience themselves by a long wait in the emergency room) would not be seeking that service?

The medical providers would be deluged with demands on their services that would overwhelm them -- and overwhelm the treasury.

Just like Cash for Clunkers.

It's predictable. It's inevitable.

It's human nature.