America has a choice. Health care can either be part of the free market – or not. Or it can remain a hodgepodge mixture – as it already is.

According to Abraham Lincoln, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

America, you, the people, need to decide.

Health care has two primary elements: products and services. Products are easier to analyze than services, so let’s focus there.

Health care products include items like crutches, wheelchairs, hearing aids, eye glasses, artificial hips, splints, medications, lab tests, etc.

We all understand that manufacturers need to make a profit. If it costs $5 in raw materials to manufacture a jacket, we don’t argue when they sell it wholesale for $10. We understand they have to cover their development costs, their labor, their rent. Nor do we argue when retailers mark the price up to $20 – they, too, need to cover their overhead – and hope to make a profit as well. The mark-up also allows retailers to discount their price if desired, and is a cushion against inventory losses, shoplifting, etc.

But how is it that a drug that costs $4 this year may have been $100 last year? Why do hearing aids cost $3000 when a home computer is $300? How can over-the-counter reading glasses cost $2 and prescription glasses $200? What does it cost to manufacture an artificial hip?

A curious thing happened today. I received a notice from one of the two local hospital systems regarding updated lab test pricing. Of course, I expected the prices to be higher. Lo and behold, the prices had been cut – chopped, in fact – some by as much as 70%! The reason? They desired to be more competitive in the local market.

Now that’s one example of the free market at work. If certain medical items were deregulated – hearing aids, for example – watch how fast the price would drop. The situation is complex and could not be solved overnight, but with a little ingenuity, it could be solved!

There are too many questions to be addressed in a brief discussion, but let’s address just one: hearing aids. Perhaps there was a time when the industry required FDA regulation, but I would argue, that day is past. In this era of cell phones and iPods, the free market could manufacture inexpensive hearing aids with various settings, using online hearing evaluations. In fact, why not have Verizon get in the business? With the computer-literate baby-boomer generation reaching Medicare age, in a free market the problem of $3000 hearing aids would take care of itself.

By Cynthia Koelker

The 76 million baby boomers retiring in the next 18 years will place a burden on the already weak Medicare system. I know I have been retired for 16 years and will be eligible for Medicare in 4 months.

I should be happy, I have had catastrophic ($10,000 deductible) health insurance for the last 15 years. I am /was looking forward to going to the doctor when ill… instead of taking aspirin and letting time do the healing. Medicare was looking good to me.

My current family doctor recently gave me the happy news he is dropping Medicare due to the reduced payments to doctors…wonderful! Think the 500 billion “health care reform” is taking out of Medicare will help matters? I do not think so.

The sad facts are that Medicare will be running out of money in 2019. It currently makes up 15% of the federal budget. There are currently 46 million Americans covered under Medicare. In twenty years time there will be 77 million on Medicare…a two-thirds increase into an already sick system.

Think the politicians will fix this? Medicare and Social Security are the third-rail of American politics…everyone realizes they must be fixed but no one wants to commit seppuku to do so personally.

Baby boomers should be aware of this situation. For those nearing retirement they should check with their current family doctor to see if they take Medicare and will they take Medicare in the future.

By Gary Pierce