Single-payer lessons
The Rocky’s editorial of Aug. 2, “Single-payer baloney,” nails government-monopoly health care on the head.
As a Canadian recently emigrated to the U.S., I can assure you that the harmful consequences of single payer the Rocky describes are accurate.
However, I disagree that nonresidents will flood the state for “free” treatment. Instead, the flight of doctors and starving hospitals of capital will ensure that there is little health care to be received by anybody within a few years.
Americans don’t go to Canada for surgery. Rather, Canadians come here for treatment that their government denies them at home.
John R. Graham
Director, Health Care Studies
Pacific Research Institute
San Francisco
If you don't have insurance, you will NOT get treatment. Emergency rooms are only required to stabilize a condition and treat if life threatening. Do you think that you will get that pacemaker, hip replacement, bypass surgery, etc... if you don't have insurance? THINK AGAIN!!
If you have preexisting condition and your employer does not provide insurance (most do not), then individual insurance will NOT cover you no matter how much you pay. Did you know that pregnancy is regarded as a preexisting condition by many insurance companies, and that in Colorado you CAN NOT buy an individual health insurance policy to cover pregnancy regardless of how much you pay.
Unfortunately a single payer system will not work in the US because we have the highest rate of lawsuits against doctors with virtually no caps on damages. So when my father had a pacemaker installed while he had health insurance, the insurance paid $250K, of which $100K was for doctors insurance coverage -- we know because the doctor was a personal friend.
So the problem of virtually everything in this country is the lawyers and the inability of people to take responsibility for their actions. That's why we have warnings on table saws -- warning moving parts (DUH!!), hot irons -- warning hot, hair dryers -- do not use in shower.
Spot on!!! John R. Graham!!
Thanks for telling us like it really is!!
I have always said concerning "socialistic medicine" "ASK A CANADIAN!" They have tried (I emphasize) TRIED living with government forced health care!!
I have heard alot of good Canadian citizens have died trying!!!
Posted by A on August 14, 2007 10:11 AMAnd that is all the result of peole who are to lazy to read warnings and even if you do( and the words are not just exactly clear to your understanding of the english language), you can still sue. Lawyers can complicate a rock to the extent that it becomes a mountain.
Cursed be the lawyers, for they place egregious burdens on others they themselves would not bare.
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 14, 2007 10:14 AMJohn
I think you are wating your breath.
The lefties are determined to force socialized medicine on Americans no matter what problems or failings of the system elsewhere. They magnify the problems of our system and ignore the problems of their sanctified "single payer" panacea.
Taxes determine many things here. Right now the insurance is employment based in most cases. Tax deductions are granted to businesses that provide health insurnace or make it available and pay a portion of the cost. Individuals don't get the deductions and must satisfy a minimum amount of expense before any medical expenses are deductable.
Health savings account are availble on a very limited basis to individuals. They allow the person to pay at the time of service for basic medical services from a fund set aside by, at this time, the employer and the worker. Doctors will offer deep discounts to those paying cash because the doctor will not have the expense of billing an insurance company. Our local libbies managed to keep any program including individual responsibility and choice in health care from being among the "final" plans our legislature is considering. Fortunately, Colorado has Tabor. In order to start any socialized medicine program they will need to increase taxes. To do that they have to sell the incredible theory that the same government that has destroyed the education system, gives minimal treatment, with the attendant delays and denials, to those in the existing government health care system (VA) will suddenly become perfectly organized and capable of making a system work. Other countries with years of experience cannot give the levels of perfect care they claim to offer but they still make the claim.
They declare that the government medical program of Medicaid would not be good enough for the poor people without insurance.
Oh, they also have no problem attempting to include illegal immigrants to the system.
We have a health insurance program to insure children.
One area of insurance that actually works is the supplemental insurances available to seniors on medicare. These policys are marketed driectly to the individual therefore they aer people friendly.
Individual responsibility is totally ignroedand mocked by the libbys because they know best. This is in spite of the evidence mounting up from actual single payers systems that the costs of such a program grow quickly and care declines.
Get ready, some of those here don't want to hear that their perfect system isn't perfect, will concoct a conspiracy or lament that even a bad system is worse than a system where, horrors, people make their own choices and have to live with the consequences. Their mantra is that we will pay for the uninsured if they get a serious illness or severe injury. Somehow that is bad. But paying for everyone's illnesses, no matter how minor, and everyone's injurys, any kind, will be less expensive.
Such is liberal logic.
Note that John R. Graham is the Director of Health Care Studies for the Pacific Research Institute. From their website,
"The mission of the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all individuals by advancing free-market policy solutions."
His affiliation wth this organization doesn't make him wrong. However, he scarcely seems to be an objective observer.
Posted by Compassionate Moderate on August 14, 2007 12:27 PMHe is a Canadian that says it all!!!
Posted by A on August 14, 2007 04:15 PMCompassionate Moderate
(AKA progressive with a "progress on the road to socialism" agenda), so what if he has an opinion and belongs to an organization? So do you and all of those who want single payer coverage. What is your point? That he cannot be objective? And what in the world is wrong with personal reponsibility and free market solutions? What do you think this country is built upon? Nannyist policy wonks like you want to redistribute my hard earned dollars to those who choose to be lazy and not get a good enough secondary education to be able to support themselves enough to buy their own insurance.
I would have to say that all of those who are for single payer programs are not "objective" either if .