The discussion of health care reform has grown in recent weeks across various segments of American society. Debate is underway in Congress as bloggers reveal themselves to be an incubator for ideas, unlike the Republican Party bureaucracy. Fellow NextGenGOP contributor Gideon D’Assandro has offered valuable insights into this topic. Other collaborative political blogs (such as The Next Right and The Huffington Post) have similarly featured posts pertaining to the topic, and taking perspectives on the issue which have not been widely disseminated.

Nonetheless, the issues raised by D’Assandro and the others highlight an important aspect to the discussion of health policy reform; the origins of the challenges faced. Only with an accounting of the causes of high health care costs can real reform be achieved. Of course, Democrats have the opportunity to rush health care reform bill into law like they did the stimulus package, and leave future generations with the costs.

To fully calculate the causes of the health care woes in the United States, related policy areas must be considered. For example, a portion of the 40-odd million uninsured in the United States are illegally in the country. Thus, discussions of health care refom must also include the impact of immigration enforcement, and unfunded federal and state protections for illegal immigrants that drive up medical costs. States where illegal aliens are permitted to obtain driver’s licenses and other official documents only exacerbate such concerns. Another policy area related to health care are torts. Thus, discussions of the merits of tort reform should be included in the debate on health care reform if the only other options concern the growth of government. Of course, determining who pays for reform and how must be discussed prior to any reforms being adopted into law. The  failure of politicians in both parties to account for fiscal limitations remains a point of concern. 

More importantly, though seemingly not to leaders in Washington, the constitutionality of possible reforms should be weighed. Many justly criticize the excess of this and the previous U.S. administration, but forget that constitutional questions are often the last to be asked. Federalism too, should be included in this debate. Then again, perhaps constitutionality is never brought into the discussion, because a charter whose early amendments are meant to protected the people from the government is in spirit, if not in fact, set specifically against the protection of the people from themselves by the government.

Last 5 posts by James Kane

• A November to Remember - November 8th, 2010
• On hope and fear - October 18th, 2010
• Expecting Different Results - September 12th, 2010
• A glaring omission on Iraq - August 31st, 2010
• Employing a losing strategy - August 7th, 2010