Paying physicians with peppers

April 24th, 2010 12:51 pm CT

The Tennessee House of Representatives Commerce Committee met recently to discuss HB 3433, known as the “Tennessee Health Freedom Act”. The Bill is sponsored by Republican Representative Mike Bell of Riceville, TN and supported by Tea Party advocates who feel the Health Care Bill passed by the U.S. Congress is imposing upon the citizens of Tennessee to make personal health care choices.


Sponsors, who are still angry over the passage of a Health Care, want Tennesseans to be able to opt out from participating without penalty. Okay, if we accept this, the idea will be that if a Tennessean opts out, and gets sick, they will have to find a way to pay for their own health care.


But, if a Tennessean opts out, gets sick, goes to the Emergency Room of The Med and requires immediate care, who do you think is going to “foot” the bill? We, the tax payers are!


One of the major points of the new Health Care Bill is it actually “budgets” for all the free, indigent care that has been provided over the years. This is the type of expense that nearly closed down the Regional Medical Center recently.


In lieu of a real alternative to the recent Health Care Bill passed by Congress, Republicans have yet to suggest a workable alternative.


Oh, I misspoke. Rep. Mike Bell, R-Riceville stated on April 13, 2010 in the TN House Commerce Committee that the uninsured would “pay cash or work out other alternatives.”


To this Rep. Joe Towns, Jr. D-Memphis responded, “you’re saying they pay cash? For organ transplants and cancer and heart cases, they pay cash?”


Rep. Bell responded, “I know for a fact. I know someone in the medical field who has been paid with vegetables…”


Although Rep. Towns attempted to explain economics in the 21century to Rep. Bell, like most things, facts have no value.


Is paying for health care with vegetables a reasonable proposal? In full disclosure, let me state, my father was a doctor and yes, at times he accepted cakes, brownies and even a sweater as payment for his services, but I also recall my mother asking him, “How do we feed the kids with a sweater?”


There are good people out there that will help; the Church Health Center is a great example of care and service to the community.


Accessible, affordable health care is something we should expect in this country. But health care is not free, whether paying the costs with taxes after the fact or upfront, at reasonable rates, in the form of premiums.


Peppers, tomatoes, ears of corn once were a useful form of currency, but that’s not practical in today’s world. People expect payment in cash not vegetables. Besides, if I could find a wallet big enough to hold my vegetables, I’d be sitting on squash!