For many years, it has occurred to me that public policy has taken to a lottery system of care approach to solving problems. What is meant by Lottery System? Simply, we tap into people's willingness to gamble on risk in order to support the perception that they put a few extra dollars in their pocket by supporting such a system. Here are a few examples:
Healthcare: Our Healthcare model is prioritized by risk. Prior to Obamacare, it was much worse. Yet, today we set premiums based on risk factors. For example, the young pay the least to insure themselves whereas the older adults will pay more. If you are not likely to need emergency care, you also opt for policies that have minimal risk for exposure to a serious incident by charging high deductibles. If you get lucky enough, you will never need to pay them. The entire system has lottery deadlines an protocols to receive care making it difficult for providers and those needing care to solve healthcare problems for individuals.
Education: Our model of education is similar. Charter Schools have a lottery system in some cases. Living in a neighborhood with a poor performing school, you can enter a lottery requesting a new school. There are deadlines for yearbooks based on income eligibility in high school. Academic achievement can be improved through a lottery process of prep classes. Some qualify, while others do not. Post secondary education has a similar process. Some affirmative action programs can lottery a person in a program or lead to your denial. High demand programs are sometimes use a lottery process to enroll a students. Missing student aid and scholarship deadlines can be a huge mistake.
Social Services: The system of care is based on knowledge of the odds. Miss a HEAP date, no help for you. Fill out a form wrong, wait another month to apply. Missed the date for signing up childcare assistance, you can not apply again. Rent assistance, HUD, and Food Assistance. All have elements of a lottery process.
There are many more examples. We lottery almost every service in this country. Would it not be simpler to streamline the process. After all, we spend billions supporting a lottery system of care. Why not directly target money to impact programs universally without mandates and complicated lottery measures? Is there a better system of care than the one we have now. Lottery systems are expensive and ineffective. After all, a dollar and a dream is just that, a dollar an a dream.
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