How to reduce the size of government: Department of Health and Human Services

In an ongoing series, the CATO Institute has gone through the Federal Government and taken stock of the different departments and what they do for the citizens.  They then produced case by case ways to reduce the size and cost of each department to prove that it is possible to reduce the size of government.

They offer such novel ideas as free market solutions, private industry and State rights.  These ideas are foreign to the average left leaning liberal out there because it would remove power from the Central Government.  What would we do if the Government was not there to take care of us?  Supply our whims with the comfort of Nanny protection.  We might actually create (return) to the great country that was fought for and formed back in the Time of our Fathers.

When will we come to understand that caring for people does not need to make them dependant.  Helping people does not mean that they should become slaves of the State, voting blocks of needy zombies waiting for their next fix from the dealer that is the Federal Government.

Please, go, seek and find simple solutions to what has become the biggest problem our country faces.



Department of Health and Human Services



from CATO:

"The Department of Health and Human Services administers the huge and fast-growing Medicare and Medicaid programs. These programs fuel rising health costs, distort health markets, and are plagued by waste and fraud. The department also runs an array of other expensive subsidy programs, including Head Start, TANF, and LIHEAP. Growth in HHS spending is creating a federal financial crisis, and the 2010 health care law sadly makes the situation worse."



Spending Cuts Summary


"The Department of Health and Human Services encompasses a giant and sprawling collection of agencies and programs. Its 2010 budget of $869 billion represents almost one-quarter of total federal spending. The department operates more than 400 different subsidy programs, including the massive and fast-growing Medicare and Medicaid programs.


The projected growth in Medicare and Medicaid will create a national fiscal disaster in coming decades unless the programs are restructured and cut. Unfortunately, the 2010 health care law expanded federal health spending and will likely make America's looming fiscal crisis worse.1


Eventually, policymakers will have to control rising federal debt, and that means they will have to downsize HHS programs. Medicare should be converted to a system based on individual vouchers and competitive coverage options. Medicaid should be turned into a state block grant with a fixed level of federal funding. The 2010 health care law should be repealed and other HHS programs should be terminated, as listed below."



Timeline of Government Growth


This timeline shows the beginning of the end:


•2010. President Barack Obama signs into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is the largest and most expensive health care bill passed since 1965.42 The legislation expands Medicaid and adds new subsidy programs, and will likely cost more than the advertised $1 trillion over the first decade. The health bill expands federal power in many ways, including imposing a mandate on Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine. The bill also contains large and damaging tax increases, while conferring added power on the Internal Revenue Service.Who is John Galt....







The department will spend $869 billion in 2010, or about $7,400 for every U.S. household. It employs 65,000 workers and operates more than 400 programs."