Robin Beres: Don’t Pass on Ignorance

My husband's mother will be 90 in October. She grew up on a Wisconsin farm less than 50 years after the Ingalls family lived in their little house in the big Wisconsin woods. Industrious, hard-working, and always cheerful, she personifies the Midwestern work ethic. Hers has been a life dedicated to family, church, and career.

Now that she is older, she has slowed down a bit. She no longer volunteers with the health department, but she still lends a hand at the local hospital and a nearby senior center.

Two years ago she had an arthritic knee replaced. Delighted with the freedom from pain, this past winter she had the other knee done. It has been 25 years since she has been so pain-free.

Sadly, a much-anticipated visit from her has been delayed a few months. She just had bypass surgery. Her cardiologist warned her of the inherent risks of surgery for someone her age, but he didn't for a moment question whether the operation should take place. Thank goodness for the great insurance policy that has enabled her to undergo these surgeries that have given her a new lease on life.

An extraordinary woman indeed, but she is no longer a rarity. People are living a lot longer and, as a group, senior citizens are a lot more active than their counterparts of even 25 years ago. Refusing to be relegated to the rocking chair, many Americans in their 70s, 80s, and 90s are opting to replace arthritic hips and knees. While surgery at an advanced age is risky, it's a choice individuals must make for themselves.

That might change with the passage of H.R. 3200, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009." The bill -- which Congress will consider when it returns to D.C. in September -- aims to "provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending." It's a lofty goal indeed. But is it permissible to ask how we are going to start providing health care to the purported 48 million currently uninsured while at the same time reducing growth in health care spending?

There are going to be a lot more seniors in the very near future. They are going to demand top-notch health care. And what voting seniors want, they usually get. So, if not from seniors, where are those savings going to come from that will reduce the growth in health care spending?

Maybe the easiest way to save money is to reduce the number of new users. The average per capita lifetime medical expenditures for Americans in 2000 was about $316,000. If we could reduce the numbers of infants born, imagine how much money could be saved. A thousand fewer babies every year would mean a yearly saving of more than $300 million.

Section 1713 of the bill discusses home visitation services by trained nurses to homes with first-time pregnant women or with children under 2 years old. The visits will take place as determined by the government and will be aimed at "improving maternal or child health and pregnancy outcomes or increasing birth intervals between pregnancies."

But, who decides what a decent interval between pregnancies is? And what happens if someone violates that? Could one be fined for having too many babies too often? Or required to terminate a pregnancy rather than risk a fine?

Certainly these are ridiculous assumptions. But who knows? Just as scary is the fact that no one person can say for sure what actually is in the bill. At town hall meetings across the country, congressmen and -women are unable to answer many questions posed by concerned Americans.

The American health care system needs reform. But the gargantuan bill lurking in the House is not the answer. It would take more than two reams of paper just to print it out. Most Americans brave enough to try to wade through the bill end up shaking their heads over the incomprehensible wording.

The cash-for-clunkers program was rushed through. It has proven to be a colossal headache: Not enough money was allocated, there weren't proper provisions made to scrap the thousands of automobiles turned in, and rules and regulations seem to change without warning. Do we want the same thing with health care (except on a 10,000-times larger scale)?

Surely it is in our best interest to take a deep breath and do a little more planning and preparing before we turn over our health care to the government.

Contact Robin Beres at (804) 649-6305 or .