In reading through my RSS feed this afternoon, I came across this article out of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The basic gist is Emory and Piedmont Hospitals are protesting the fact that Gwinnett Medical Center is being allowed to open an open heart center by the state. Note, please, that Emory and Piedmont are currently the two primary hospitals in north Georgia allowed to perform open heart surgery.
The way I read it, they are protesting Gwinnett’s moving into this field because they think there are enough places that can do it already in north Georgia and that the state doesn’t is making a mistake in granting the request (the same state, mind you, that granted their request to start one). Maybe I’m alone in this, but this strikes me more as asking the government to continue to facilitate the limited monopoly Emory and Piedmont have for these procedures.
This is yet another reason why we need less government involvement in healthcare rather than more. This is one private group asking the government to use their monopoly on force to protect them from another private group in fair competition. At this end of the day, this boils down simply to those two hospitals not wanting the competition, not out of any real concerns over treatment.
I think the part that amuses me the most in this article is Emory’s complaint stating the state sanctioning for Gwinnett should be revoked due to lack of publicity about the program’s opening. Since when does lack of publicity mean something shouldn’t be granted? If I was a hospital administer, I wouldn’t sink a lot of money into hyping something until I knew I was going to be able to do it either.
Asking the government to step in and protect your business in the private market is nothing more than economic cowardice. I sincerely hope the courts laugh Emory and Piedmont out of the courtroom.
stranger News
Going through things in my RSS reader this morning, I came across this from Citizen X:
http://adventuresofcitizenx.com/2009/08/17/socialized-medicine-marches-on.aspx?ref=rss
It’s a good explanation of some of the rhetoric being used currently in the Health Care debate as well as a viewpoint of why the ‘Co-Ops’ now being proposed are going to be just as bad for private competition as a Government Option.
Definitely worth a read in my opinion.
stranger Government Outrage, News
After discussions with various friends and the like, I feel the need to make a general statement here regarding my baseline position when it comes to the current Healthcare debate (or really any other government proposal that I see as an expansion of an already intrusive Federal Government).
My starting point for anything is “where does the Federal Government have the authority to do this?” With many of the programs that are brought forward, no matter what side of the aisle serves as the point of origin, my take on it is ‘no.’
Healthcare Reform/National Healthcare? No.
Corporate Bailouts/Take overs? No.
Providing Prescription Drugs? No.
While nits can be picked back and forth regarding various proposals and the like for healthcare reform and/or a form of National healthcare, the simple fact remains that I do not believe the Federal Government has the authority to do this. I’m sure there are a number of people who will point to Article I Section 8 (for those who don’t know that chapter and verse, it says the following: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;). General Welfare, as I read that, does not mean the Federal Government is allowed to take the fruits of the labors of one group of people and give it either directly or indirectly to other people. That is an abuse of the authority to use force given to the Government.
So the bottom line is I don’t care if one side or the other or both is lying is what is proposed. I don’t care if people showing up at Town Hall meetings are hired/organized by the healthcare industry or sent out by the unions. The bottom line for me remains that this is not the responsibility of the Federal Government in the first place, and they should turn their attention to other things, like cutting the amount of money Washington is spending (that we don’t have in the first place) rather than finding new things on which to spend more money we don’t have.
stranger Personal Thought