Deceptive Hospital Advertising

I saw an advertisement on TV this morning. There was a small group of people apparently addressing Congress.

It was said that Congress was trying to eliminate $100 billion from the budgets of Medicare and Medicaid involving hospitals. The advertisement finished by their asking a direct question to Congress, "What were you thinking?"

I consider this deceptive advertising, because the scenario implied that $100 billion was going to be cut from hospitals, which would effectively have to be closed. That's a ridiculous implication!

Autocratic socialists (read Liberal Democrats) routinely exaggerate a situation to engage fear or unjustifiable support. If there was any talk about $100 billion cut in the health area, it was likely over a ten-year period. Discussion of ten-year cuts don't make sense. We have a problem now! Today!

I don't know how much of any cut in health expenses would involve hospitals, but I personally believe it would be justified. Most people consider hospitals as some kind of public trough, when in fact, hospitals are big business. They exist and expand primarily on the largess of the taxpayers, through government grants. Anyone who has been in the hospital and has received a bill, has likely seen the detail of exorbitant charges, much of which is being absorbed by government through some kind of "special contract".

The fact also is that there are too many hospitals and they are too big. Many of them have unoccupied beds, and presumably unoccupied employees. For example here in Lubbock, with a County population of about 260,000, we have three major hospitals and more than a handful of smaller operating clinics.

Why would Lubbock need three major hospitals? The answer is, "We don't". The only reason we have them is because the public is continually sold a bill of goods by the hospitals and by the federal government, through such advertising as mentioned above. But perhaps of greater significance is the continuing decline of individual responsibility on all matters of lifestyle. Government is now responsible for your education, the safety of your food, providing roads for your travel, providing medical care when you're sick, etc.. With that sort of philosophy now well-ingrained, why shouldn't Lubbock have three major hospitals with a possibility that I, with a dependent philosophy, might say, "Help me go to one of them?