First, Do No Harm Video Contest

by Amy Menefee

You've heard politicians promise to “fix” health care. Make it affordable. Make it universal.

But don't their promises sound too good to be true?

It’s no secret we need health reform in the United States. But if politicians aren’t careful, their government solutions could make things worse. Too many of their proposals are based on myths about government health insurance. You may have heard the following…

Myth: The government is the best way to get everyone health coverage.

A quick look at a few states shows government can’t provide insurance just by snapping its fingers.

Hawaii tried to insure all its children, but had to abandon the idea because parents who already had insurance were dropping it to put their kids on the “free” government plan. The plan was intended to cover children who were falling through the cracks, but the wealthy jumped on it as well. The system was overwhelmed and the program ended. And that was just for children — imagine what would happen if we tried the same thing with adults nationwide.

Or take Massachusetts, which passed a law requiring all residents to have health insurance. Costs have been soaring and the state now spends one-third more money per person on health care than the rest of the nation. It’s also costing patients time – the wait to see a primary care doctor can be up to 100 days.  Click here to learn more.

Myth: Health care in other countries is better.

Tell that to Canadian patients, who may wait a year or longer to see a specialist, have a hip replacement, or get radiation therapy for cancer. More than 800,000 Canadians are on waiting lists for some kind of treatment.

Across the pond things aren’t much better. Nearly 1.8 million Britons are waiting to get into a hospital or to have an outpatient procedure. And German breast cancer patients are 52 percent more likely to die from the disease than Americans. So what do Canada, Great Britain, and Germany have in common? You guessed it: government-run health care.  Find out more.

Myth: Expanding government is the only solution to reform health care.

A federal takeover of health care isn’t the solution. In fact, there are many ideas about how we can reform our health sector to preserve what works and fix what doesn’t.

For instance, we buy many things from other states – why not health insurance? If you could buy insurance across state lines, you could shop for the best deal. Or how about providing tax credits to help people buy health insurance that is portable, so they can take it with them from job to job? Some of these regulatory changes would have a big impact but cost very little.  Learn more.

Doctors live by the principle “First, do no harm.”  When it comes to our health care, shouldn’t politicians do the same?

Solutions that sound too good to be true usually are. We don’t need health “reform” that’s based on myths. Before politicians make sweeping changes to our health care system, let’s make sure they have their facts straight.

Join our YouTube group, upload a creative video debunking the myths about government health care and compete for a first prize of $3,000, a second prize of $1,000, and a third prize of $500.

Rules:
•    Videos should be no longer than 90 seconds
•    Videos must be submitted by 11:59pm ET on May 15, 2009
•    There is a limit of one submission per individual.
•    Contestants must submit the following information to firstdonoharm09@gmail.com: Contestant’s name, email, name of video, daytime/evening phone numbers, address, and how the Contestant heard about the Contest.

Questions? Email firstdonoharm09@gmail.com.