Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: Capitalism in Medicine Trounces Socialism

American Thinker.com ^ | June 6, 2020 | Howard Sachs

[Kaslin]

Socialism or capitalism for health care? We know that leftists root for the former. They are fools to do so.

I've been practicing medicine for over 30 years under various economic systems. The V.A. I worked at is almost a liberty- free, hard-left system, with doctors and patients grinding through the day under piles of government laws regarding when, where, how much, and who will get medical care. The waste and inefficiencies are in plain sight there. Its socialist organization is why thousands of our precious veterans have died prematurely or suffered intolerable waits for the expensive and generally mediocre care of the V.A. system. Most of my work life has been in "private" practice. The "private" is really a misnomer, because 60–70% of "private" medicine is now socialized as well.

Remember when Gomer Pyle, USMC, the funny TV character, used to say "surprise, surprise, surprise"? Well, some fine doctors I know, men of the left, suddenly realized that capitalism — its freedom to earn a profit, its liberty for the doctor and patient to make the health care decisions — seems to be the best type of medicine to practice. Indeed, surprise!

Most doctors are like all other professionals — knowledgeable in a narrow part of life. Many are varyingly and often profoundly ignorant in many key areas outside medicine (myself included). It is the unusual one with a lot of wisdom. It's why so many embrace such foolish ideologies like leftism — "Medicare for All" or "Health care is a Human Right." They may be wise about kidneys, but they are fools in their embrace of socialism.

[mjp]

worship of big giverment + emotionalism + altruism + collectivism + utilitarianism + statism + socialism + force = sanction of false rights

the right to health care is a false right

[Bernard]

The recovery really begins when somebody in the pharmacy manufacturing industry decides to break ranks and make American medications in America. The first one in corners the market and makes a lot of money. The latecomers get what's left.

A lot of resistance, nut the promise of earned profit would be the goal. It would take a person like the My Pillow guy.

[Think free or die]

We've seen a huge decline in the quality and affordability of medical care in our lifetimes. My most recent rude awakening was having what seemed a simple, 20-minute surgical procedure to remove a bone spur and ganglion cyst on my finger. Between what insurance paid and we paid, it was over $20,000. The 15 minutes in recovery eating crackers and drinking juice ran over $2,000. Beyond ridiculous.

Our primary care practice was absorbed by one of the monsters some 15 years ago, and now is just another tentacle of a big hospital system. They are no longer allowed to use metal tools because apparently their infection risk was too high. Anything that can't be done with plastic implements has to be referred to a surgical practice. They can't even remove a mole, and every consultation is rushed. MD's with 25 years experience apparently can't be trusted with a scalpel and scissors now. I can understand why so many doctors discourage their own children from investing in medical education.