Thanks to stephen_taylor's post on Twitter, I just read this NY Post article on the distinct possibility that Natasha Richardson would still be alive were it not for Canada's system of socialized medicine.
What is important here is not the human tragedy (though any senseless death of an individual, especially a contributing and creative individual, is a great loss to humanity). What is important is the fact that the Democratic Party, Leftists, and Socialists of all stripes want to use the current economic crisis to force socialized medicine on the United States.
Europhiles and Socialists (aren't they really one and the same?) lambaste the United States for our expensive health care system and our unhealthy population.
I argue that the reason we have so many healthy people is that EuroSocialist countries are letting so many people die through rationed health care and lack of services, that they are skewing the statisitics. Am I right? I'm not a health care economist, but I'd rather live in a country where the emergency care is second-to-none, and I know that there is an MRI or CT scanner never more than 30 mintues away, along with trained surgeons who can save my life!
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European/Socialist countries do not have better health care rates because they let their citizens die. Moving past that claim, this issue is rationing. In no society is there enough money to provide 100% care to 100% of the population. The issue is how you ration that care. In the United States, we have chosen to ration it based on whether or not you can pay for it. Socialized medicine rations care on more arbitrary guidelines. For example, in the US, and 98 year old who wants hip replacements can get them if he can pay for them whereas England would say giving a 98 y/o man $40,000 new hips was a waste of society's resources. What is happening in Europe (less so in Canada) and will probably eventually happen in the US is that a 2-tier system will evolve, where there will be a basic level of coverage for all citizens, with the ability to go above and beyond that level of care if you can afford it.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, Mr. Crossed Arrows, by being in the military, you are in America's only socialized health care system...