Healthcare and Me (Week 0)

Today I awoke to the news that healthcare reform had passed.  I've been very opposed to the healthcare reform legislation because I believe it goes about it in the wrong way.  It improves access by increasing spending rather than improving access by lowering costs.  Of course, some have argued that the legislation would lower costs as well, but even if this were true (and I highly doubt that it is) it would still make for a greatly enlarged government, which I am almost always opposed to.  Anyway, I've been adamantly against the bill since they started talking about it a year ago.

However, today I found myself in an odd position.  As I grabbed a snack from the snack bar (ironically, the snack was making me a higher health risk), I caught a piece of the news.  CNBC was reviewing what the almost-final bill would mean for various groups.  Turns out that with my recent decision to become an academic, I would personally have a lot to gain from the new system.  During my PhD program (the next five years), my premiums would either be free or heavily subsidized, and for the beginning years of my career the legislation would have little impact on me (that would all change, of course, if my career really took off).  But in the short-term the legislation was really appealing.  It would certainly make the next five years more bearable.

I found myself wanting to know just how much the legislation was going to save me - not save my country, but save ME.

So if I were to cast my vote today, would I cast it based on moral principles (limited government, protection of property rights, i.e., low taxes, etc.) or would I cast it based on selfish principles (what has the highest economic return to me)?

Or, would the answer actually be the same regardless of the basis for my decision?