Rand Paul's Healthcare Solution: "Pay Me Cash"

Of course he offered discounts for cash - that's what back-alley "doctors" without board certification have to do. But I'm confused exactly what kind of "healthier lifestyle" prevents you from hit by a drunk driver, running up millions of dollars in hospital and rehab care, plus millions more in lifetime disability.  Not sure even RMoney has that kind of cash in his pocket.

Sy Mukherjee at Think Progress:

During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) declared, “capitalism has not been tried yet in health care,” and suggested that enrolling more Americans in high-deductible health plans would lower health care costs. 

While addressing the moral imperative to ensure that low-income Americans can afford health insurance, Paul explained that his experience in his own medical practice highlights the wisdom of high-deductible, “consumer-driven” plans, or forgoing insurance altogether and paying in cash:

Capitalism has not been tried yet in health care. Most of health care is government-fixed prices and there’s very little capitalism. In fact, I’m a physician. In my practice, about 3% of my practice was capitalism. Those are people who came in with high deductibles or paid cash. That marketplace worked because we did bid down prices on things that people came in and paid for.

SNIP

Proponents of high-deductible health plans claim that they curb health care costs by providing consumers a market incentive to lead healthier lifestyles. But this “market-based” approach involves massive cost-shifting from hospitals and providers onto consumers, forcing sick Americans to choose between exorbitant out-of-pocket costs and forgoing treatment. Such plans also disproportionately affect those who require ongoing care or have chronic illnesses. 

Watch the video here.

Your junior U.S. Senator, my fellow Kentuckians, for another four fucking years. I hope every one of you motherfucking disappointed Democrats who sat home instead of voting in 2010 are proud of yourselves.