Health Care - Continued

My buddy [heretofore, "Buddy"] and I are continuing our health care debate. In an omitted section, he asserted that the health care law is not about health care at all, but rather government intrusion. He also suggested medicare/medicaid are enough. I said the law is about health care and that everyone, him included, wants the government to enforce health care laws and provide minimum coverage. [That's a bad synopsis, but oh, well...]

Buddy replied:

Glenn, don't be deceived my friend! Like I said before, this has nothing to do with health care. This is a ploy to give government even more control. More surveillance. More security. This is just one step in a multi-step process resulting in more government involvement.
With a "free" health care system, this just becomes another benefit to the illegal immigrant.
Look at whats happening already in border towns in Arizona and Texas...uncontrollable crime.
With more [improper/unregulated] immigration, we'll see even greater crime in more cities.
With greater crime the government will have to institute martial law...and POLICE IT'S OWN PEOPLE.
i.e. Loss of more rights.
This could have all been prevented WITH LIMITED GOV'T. Our government doesn't solve problems, it hasn't solved a problem in decades. They create problems, then sell ideas to us. ("deception").
Oh, and ps. It's not a good idea to begin your argument telling me what I want. I DON'T WANT our government's healthcare. I want to work hard, get paid well, and use my hardearned dollar to purchase healthcare in a highly competitive field. Our healthcare insurance companies aren't allowed to compete the way they should. We never gave the free market a chance...and we call ourselves "American." Shame.

I just responded:

Dearest Buddy, I am not at all deceived about this bill or its purpose. If you remember, you and your dad challenged me back in 1992/3 to know exactly what each party stands for and what is in each bill before Congress [the debate then was gun laws]. Since that day, I have done the work to be informed about every major bill. I am forever grateful to you for making me ground my ideology and arguments in political reality.

For that reason, I am determined not to talk past you and just assert dogma. I truly believe that this bill is about health care. I also believe that your actions and self-proclaimed wants indicate support for this bill.

If you want to work hard and buy health insurance, that implies that you want your insurance policy to be enforced if you get sick. There was no guarantee that the insurance company would honor your policy before. This health care bill gives that guarantee. If the government did not enforce contracts, including insurance policies, large-scale industry could not exist. Government actions, such as this health care law, prop up private industry; they do not aid any eventual "government takeover." 

Part of allowing/forcing insurance companies to "compete the way they should" means preventing companies from competing unfairly by selling fraudulent merchandise. Fraudulent merchandise would include health insurance policies that are not honored when people get sick. The new health reform law actually promotes the "highly competitive field" you explicitly claim to want.

Finally, while you and I agree that government's surveillance powers are dangerous and growing, I am not sure this health care law is the biggest threat on that front. The new law forces people into PRIVATE insurance companies and keeps doctor-patient privacy laws in tact. The new law ensures records are streamlined between doctors, but not shared with the government.

P.S. As someone who lives in Texas and has done much work with undocumented immigrants, including in border towns, I think I am best-positioned to speak about what's happening. Please let me assure you and everyone else, undocumented immigrants are by and large extremely good people. They are no more crime-prone than white Americans or any other group of Americans. In fact, they are generally more crime averse because even the most ridiculous, petty offense could separate them from their families for years. Undocumented immigrants are people. My Christian faith demands that I recognize that and, at minimum, provide them with health care. Fellow volunteers and I have worked with many people, undocumented immigrants, who died and left small children, simply because the U.S. would not provide basic health care. Again, as a human, and certainly as a Christian, I cannot accept that situation.

And added:

To be clear, my point is that the health care law is not about government intrusion. The law is actually necessary for the "free-market," private-sector capitalism that your comments suggest you favor.

If we're going to have healthy competition, we must have ground rules and a referee to enforce the rules. That's what health care reform gives us.