The Herald, South Florida’s major newspaper, headlined the unthinkable this past week: Jackson Halts Dialysis of Poor Patients .  One of the nation’s top-rated hospitals, Miami’s Jackson Health System had to adopt a policy that would deprive some 175 indigent patients of critical, life-saving care because it could no longer afford to provide it.

Hardly a decision taken lightly by the hospital administration, the financially strapped institution finally had to draw the line on life. Fortunately for those patients , some of the other area hospitals volunteered to take up the slack for all but about 4o. These would have to seek care in the city’s emergency rooms, where the law requires the hospitals to provide critical care regardless of the financial condition of the patient—or the hospital!

This, to me, is a tragic and stunning case in point that illustrates a simple fact: no matter how humane and compassionate the issue, the ultimate truth is that there simply ain’t no free lunch. As much as we would like to characterize medical care as a right rather than a privilege, without the funds to provide it, it vanishes.

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It appears we’re very likely to incur another $861 billion in committed entitlements to cover healthcare  reform. When the dust settles, we will have indulged our social consciences to the extent that we officially establish health care as a right instead of a privilege. Actually, it may not be all that bad in the long run.

After all, we’ve already committed to huge amounts of debt  that can encumber our kids, and theirs, for a long time. This would be a little more for a good cause.

My point here is that the role of the conservative has never been to simply throw roadblocks in the way of progress, as the liberal establishment would have us believe. Rather it’s role is important and two-fold: protector and facilitator!

As protector, that side of the aisle has always been the side to turn to for national security. That will not change.

As facilitator, it supports business, commerce, and production—ultimately the only source of funds to cover all of our national expense. There’s simply no other place to get it. So the sooner the left makes peace with the guys on the right who can pay for all their good works, the better off we’ll all be!

In return for accepting healthcare reform (and with it a public option that can prevent the insurance business from devouring so much of both the providers’ and the patients’ dollars) the conservative side of the aisle should demand legislation that will enhance business’s ability to provide the funds  to pay that debt, that will foster entrepreneurialism, and free up funds for investment in job-producing enterprise.

That would seem a win-win situation that might just bring us back to economic health faster than anything else could.

What do you think?

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