The ER Fairy and Other Urban Legends

There is an ad on TV now about there not being a "credit fairy". While the ad is pretty dorky, it does hit on a core truth: we expect "someone else" to fix it. We are simply spoiled rotten and we expect some magical answer to all our woes, even those we create ourselves.

The health care issue is one of these. More particularly, it is the health care insurance issue. We have created this monster that consumes our savings and drives millions of people into poverty. Small businesses are fighting the healthcare legislation on the basis that it will hurt them financially.

Baloney.

There are two major flaws in this kind of thinking.

First, it will never put a small business at a competitive disadvantage because ALL companies
will be in exactly the same boat. If one company has to pay more for the health of its employees, ALL companies will have to pay more for the health of employees. The only thing that will drive them out of business is if they run a company very poorly anyhow. Prices will rise hither and yon, and may fall hither and yon to accommodate for the new line item. But every single company will be doing the same thing.

And, second, we pay for employee health care already. It is called "emergency care". We wait until people are sick enough to go the ER before we will help them. That ER care costs massive amounts of money. Who do you think pays for those ER visits? The ER fairy?

The health care reform will shift care to earlier care, pre-ER. It will encourage people to go to doctor's offices. Doctors aren't cheap, but they are a dime store bargain compared to ER costs. All in all, we will end up saving BILLIONS. Yes, many, many BILLIONS of dollars.

Yes, the transition may be a bit rocky. Most transitions are, even good ones. But the upside is so strong, I just cannot believe that so many otherwise decent people object so severely to it.

So, tell me, what's wrong with admitting there is no ER fairy?