Pre-Boomer Musings

We are hearing lots of health care news coming to us through a wide variety of media sources. Despite the talk on capital hill, time is needed to prepare a single, merged bill for a vote. Consequently, we have no way of knowing what the final legislation will look like; but many pre-boomers, like me, are worried about the details. One concern is if there is a government plan who will oversee its operation?

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Maybe the post office will be the place where we go to sign up for health care. There are nearly 33,000 United States Postal System USPS locations in America, so going to the post office would be convenient for most people living. And we could simply pick a plan from an array of choices, much in the way stamps are selected.

Of course, the lines may move more quickly if there is only one option: the universal health care plan. A single plan also reduces the time spent discussing insurance costs. All we have to do is pick up the forms at the counter and fill them out like we do the delivery verification cards and the certified mail receipts. The USPS has more than 655,000 employees, so we can look forward to the friendly, helpful and efficient service we’ve come to expect at the post office.

And, since the USPS has 260,000 vehicles, the world’s largest fleet, there might be something the government can do with these cars and trucks in order to improve health care service. For instance, they might develop a new way to deliver prescriptions. Or they may bring us self-diagnostic kits to take pressure off the doctors and the hospitals. If we put our collective minds to it we’re sure to come up with additional ways to get this vast fleet involved in the implementation of the health care plan.

Some may argue that the postal workers and the postal facilities should not be utilized. They may have a point. After all, we wouldn’t want to interrupt the proven efficiencies of this government agency by adding to the $6 billion projected loss for this year, which is up from last year’s deficit of $2.8 billion.

If not the post office then what other bureaucratic operation is capable of administering a government run health care plan? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) might do the job, since they already know how to extract money from us and charge interest, fees and penalties if we are late or don’t pay. Of course, they’re busy collecting money now and will have plenty to do if the proposed taxes are enacted for energy, certain foods and beverages as well as the national sales tax better known as the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Maybe none of the federal agencies will be able to absorb the workload for administering the health care program, but don’t rule out Social Security or Amtrak. Possibly the states could step up and help. The Department of Motor Vehicles is a likely place to start, at least as the local medical claims office. Or the decision may be to ask the private sector to get involved. Wal-Mart is the logical choice, because it is the number one employer in the country – the only one with more people on the payroll than the US post office.

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