It would appear Congress is getting closer to passing health care reform, after the House now has a proposal that is expected to pass and the Senate is said to be working on its own bill that reportedly has many similarities to the House version.

While there’s no debating the need to reform a health care system that is seeing costs soar beyond businesses’ and individuals’ ability to pay for it, it seems more than questionable to suggest that a government-run system will be more fiscally efficient while delivering the same level of service we’re getting now.

The arguments just don’t add up.

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Think about it: The federal government’s plan is going to insure more people, including the reported 30 million or more currently uninsured, but it’s not going to reduce care for anyone, and yet taxes won’t go up, except for maybe a few rich people.

Are we really going to bet our financial future and our future health on promises from those in Washington who are backing this bill?

Based on what?

We hear how part of the cost of health care reform will come from introducing greater efficiencies into programs like Medicare and Medicaid..

If there are known, solvable waste and inefficiencies in these programs, why didn’t they address them in previous years?

Medicaid was reportedly started in 1965 with estimates that its first-year costs would run about $240 million. The actual cost was reported at $1 billion, four times the original projected costs in just the first year.

The program now is said to cost $250 billion a year and continues to climb. Can you think of any federal program that ended up costing less, not more, than original estimates?

We’re told only rich people’s taxes will increase, but among the points being considered is to cut in half the money taxpayers can put in an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) that many working families use for health care expenses. That would mean increased costs for many families of as much as $700 a year, perhaps not a tax, but money out of their pocket.

It’s time to again get the attention of the president and members of Congress. They need to get the message that health care reform may be necessary but it needs to be driven through the private sector.

The federal government’s track record at delivering what it promises, at a cost we can afford, is simply too poor on which to bet our personal and fiscal health.