We Don't Spend Enough On Health Care

by Craig S. Karpel - August 16th, 2009 - Wall Street Journal

A study by Deloitte LLP has found that more than 400,000 non-U.S. residents obtained medical care in the U.S. in 2008, and it forecasts an annual increase of 3%. Some 3.5% of inpatient procedures at U.S. hospitals were performed on international patients, many of them escaping from Canada's supposedly superior health system.

"Inbound medical tourism," Deloitte stated, "is primarily driven by the search for high-quality care without extensive waiting periods. Foreign patients are willing to pay more for care within the United States if these two factors play a large role." The deficiencies of the foreign health-care systems the Obama administration wishes to emulate can be counted on to generate ever-increasing revenues for U.S. providers and employment for Americans.

Unless Barack Obama gets his way. If our health care system is made as inefficient and poor as the other single payer systems in the world, those 400,000 people who currently come to America and spend billions on health care, will take their money and go somewhere else. It will not increase each year and become more of an economic advantage for our nation. It will end leaving America poorer in the process. Is that what Barack Obama wants?

This is just one of several good arguments made in this article for keeping the health care system we have. We certainly should avoid the incompetence of the system that Barack Obama is proposing.