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It sounds paradoxical but it’s true.
When it comes to health care, sometimes spending money is the best way to save it. Eventually.
Health care premiums are soaring, driven in part by medical facilities charging those who can afford insurance a little more to offset the growing cost of caring for those who can’t afford insurance. For those who argue against socialized medicine, guess what? We already have it.
Going to the emergency room is fine and necessary when the situation is critical or life-threatening. But it’s a poor option when all you need to do is see a doctor. Moreover, it’s inefficient and possibly the most expensive way to pay for health care.
Emergency care is among the most expensive care available. And, as another old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. At least. Sometimes it’s worth thousands and thousands of dollars.
What so many people need — and so many do without — is routine, regular health care and access to doctors.
Local leaders have heard the problems with health care and insurance because many of them have felt the increasing costs at their own places of employment. In many cases, small employers cannot afford to offer insurance, or only do so at exorbitant rates. This doesn’t necessarily foster the positive business climate that Minnesota hopes to have.
Local leaders from around the southeastern part of the state also came together to invest in a program called Stedfast Health Program, which would have offered health care coverage for thousands of low-income Minnesotans. With Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto, it means the program will be nixed, despite support from both the House and Senate in St. Paul.
While we understand the local leaders who voted to kill the program after the veto, we can’t help but wonder if the decision saves us a few pennies now, but costs big bucks later.
Cutting the program doesn’t mean we’re going to cut the disease, accidents or illness. We’re just cutting off people — people who can’t afford care.
That’s the really tricky part of the whole issue: Politicians always frame the argument using terms like programs and pointing to the dollars and cents, taxes and red tape. But the truth remains that this “program” helps people. And that’s what matters — people. These people gain access to doctors and medicine. That’s what gets lost in this equation.
Local leaders and Pawlenty didn’t opt to cut programs, they cut people.
If you think it’s expensive now, wait until you get the next insurance premium in the mail.
By Darrell Ehrlick, editor, on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.
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