When it is "free", people will ALWAYS demand more than they need.
Canada and the UK have horrific waits and high cancer mortality, unless you are a socialist politican/bureaucrat vermin, in which case you magically are seen immediately.
You know, like Teddy Kennedy.
Yay, Public Healthcare! From the people who brought you Public Housing, Public Transportation, and the DMV! With that track record, you can bet that people will do all they can to stay away from the public doctor.
Excellent little satire by Neal Boortz. Sad stories like these have been told over and over again in countries plagued by socialized medicine. It’s about time that the ignorant masses in the US woke up to the danger awaiting them.
“Our national health care is just going to be paradise on earth. If you don’t believe me you just go check out the emergency room of your local charity hospital. Look at all of the people there waiting to be treated for something that a spoonful of cough medicine or a squirt of Neosporin could cure. That ought to convince you.”
I’m not for socialized medicine, but I think all the folks that are against it need to ask themselves if they are willing to pay the full cost of an individual health insurance policy.
I think socialized medicine is inevitable in this country - and when it happens, employers will jettison their plans. If we are lucky we will be allowed to purchase our own private health insurance, which is mostly illegal in Canada.
There is a good chance that freed from having to care for every slob that walks in the emergency room, private health care plans, doctors, and hospitals will actually become affordable.
Today, it simply is not - unless you rely on the government, or your employer to pay it for you.
Not that I think UK medicine is superior...but unless you got big bucks...you have at LEAST a 3 week wait to get a dermatologist to look at your skin. Other drs may be able to diagnose issues...but a complete exam requires at least 3 weeks. I have some issues on my left leg and while not life threatening...It’s a 6 week wait.
The last Q & A I read on Obama said that his plan would be for basic health care - that is to say, no such things as joint replacements. Meds for the pain and maybe crutches, but not total joint replacement. I admit I don’t know if those are the most recent thoughts, since no one I know can find a really detailed plan of his.
Here’s how Johns Hopkins had to bail out Japan’s health care system:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/05/business/sxclinic.php