Having started my 20 year insurance agent career in the individual health insurance side of the business, I am fascinated by the fact that our government wants to be the single payer in the system. Make no mistake about it, our power hungry government never wanted to fix it, they want to control it. I am not a conspiracy theory type, but our politicians want more socialism and less freedom in this country. Personally, it is not a democrat or republican issue; they are both cut from the same cloth. I have said from years ago it would not cost the American taxpayers any money to fix our out of control healthcare system. All the Politian’s had to do was pass a law forcing all doctors, clinics, hospitals, etc. to post their pricing up front and allow the American people to shop. Let’s face it we spend more time clipping coupons for our groceries than we do shopping which hospital charges the least amount to perform a MRI.  The free market capitalism system always corrects pricing issues when it is allowed to work.

Is Obamacare the solution? I read an article by Wall Street Journal  reporters Christopher Weaver and Anna Wilde Matthews concerning the breakdowns of Obamacare. It seems some health insurance companies are already interpreting the Obamacare rules quite literally. In the Obamacare law, there are provisions for employers to buy “low-benefit” plans. This means health insurance companies have to cover things like preventive care or physicals, limited doctor visits and generic drugs but not things like surgery and hospitals stays.  I have never heard of someone filing medical bills bankruptcy over owing for a physical but I have personally met with people who filed medical bills bankruptcy over surgery and hospital bills exceeding $100,000. Perhaps maybe Nancy Pelosi’s comment of “we have to pass it, to see what is in” was not prudent. So, now what are we American’s going to do about this looming crisis?

Let’s take the Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894. In the 19^th century, the mode form of transportation was horse and buggy in the large cities like London and New York. By the turn of the 20^th century the population in these cities had doubled. London a loan had 11,000 horse draw carriages including “buses” which required 12 horses to pull. Needless to say the horse manure was literally starting to pile up. It was predicted by a Loudon Times reporter that within 50 years there would be over 9 feet of manure covering the London streets. That would have been a major crisis. However, with the invention of the gas powered automobile this crisis never came to pass. By 1912, cars out numbered horses for the first time in public transportation.  Horse drawn carriages are now only a novelty. Sometimes our predictions don’t include good ole American ingenuity of innovation. I have faith that some smart business people will solve this issue long before we hit the crisis level. I have no doubt that Politian’s will take credit for it. Therefore, I do believe Obamacare is manure. However, only time will tell about whether Obamacare will work or not.

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognize the opportunity.” ― John F. Kennedy

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.