In recent news, the debate over health care reform has been dominating the headlines. It has become clear that there is no easy solution, no magic band-aid that will fix things. It is important to remember that Conservatives want change as well. However, it is imperative that whatever change is enacted is change that is actually for the better and that improves the system for the benefit of the American people. The answer, it seems, is simple: private health care. While many still seem dubious as to how this could possibly be the solution that for so long has eluded politicians and the general public alike, consider this: is it better to have available only barely adequate healthcare, or is it better to have a system where the baseline of health care is more than adequate, and yet for those who can afford more or who require a different style or more intense method of treatment, there are world-class facilities and professionals available?

With a system in place which utilizes private health insurance, with mandatory base plans subsidized by the government for those who qualify, this system is possible. A system in which healthcare is provided by the government would not only increase taxes but also increase government spending. The argument against a system of privatized health care is that profit, ultimately, seems to be the motive. However, is it wrong for a company to want to reap some sort of profit? Is it not true that without profit, a company would enter bankruptcy, leaving its employees unemployed and its former clients without the service? The American public needs to pay for its own insurance if it is not available as an employment benefit, which would give them the freedom to choose not only their plan, but the care which they receive, instead of being told by the government what care they are allowed to have.

The bottom line is this: with a system utilizing private insurance carriers and medical providers, there would be incentive for the improvement of already world-class facilities and treatments, and every American would have access to health care that would be more than low-level, adequate health care.

Originally published in the October 2009 edition of Classic Columns