Socializing Healthcare, Good or Bad?

Ask yourself whether you believe that quality healthcare is a right or a privilege. If it's the latter, then we needn't make any serious changes. That's the realm in which we currently function. But if it's a right, then national and universal healthcare is a must. In my opinioin, it's that simple.

Most developed Countries world-wide have Socialised Medicine. Canada has had it since 1984. "Medicare," as it is known in Canada is not free. Taxes on most purchases, except food items go to Pay for the Plan. Socialised Medicine is accessible to every Canadian. Taxes are not spiked, but are constant, and those who spend the most, pay the most, so it is very fair to everyone. Nothing is perfect but Medicare is a very good Health Plan. Canadian Doctors are of the Highest Quality, and will stack up to the best in North America. In fact our Medical Establishment is coming up with new medical breakthroughs with great regularity. One of the Best things about our Plan is the Peace of mind that comes with it. You never have to worry that your neighbor will lose his home because of his poor health. Canadian life expectancy in 2005 was 80.1 years. USA life expectancy in 2005 was 77.7 years. I believe this reflects the benefits of the Canadian Health Care Plan.

Don't do it. We've got the National Health Service in the UK, and it's been a disaster IMIO. Waiting lists can be months or even years long, it employs more administrative staff than medical staff, the nursing staff very often don't care about the patients, fraud is rife and standards of hygiene have plummeted. Nationalised industries are never efficient. Better to have a mixed system based on the private sector, health co-operatives and charities.

Many people don't look beyond the *promise* of free health care to the reality of what that would mean in a country the size of the United States. Let's start with a shortage of doctors. It takes upwards of 12 years to become a doctor and, unless the government is going to pay for that education and support those people while they're in school and in training, the shortage of new practicing doctors will be seen fast. This will cause even longer waits as the number of physicians in practice will not stay the same as doctors retire or switch to research where they can earn a decent living. I feel for everyone who does not have health coverage. I have relatives who don't have any and it's a struggle when they need medical care but providing them with substandard care is not the answer. Small communities like the one I live in will have no doctors instead of the few that we have now because they will quickly become overwhelmed by the number of people trying to get appointments and will close their independent offices to work for a larger group someplace else or, again, move to research. So, in many areas the ability to receive medical care will become worse than it already is. Imagine, too, that you have a terrible toothache and need to see a dentist. Even when I didn't have dental coverage I FOUND the money to go to the dentist if I was in PAIN. How long do you think you would have to wait if healthcare was socialized and everyone was free to fill up all the appointment slots? What if you want elective surgery? Right now you have to pay for it yourself if your insurance doesn't cover it but, if medical care was socialized, you lose that option, too. I'm not talking about a face lift, I'm talking about gastric bypass surgery for someone who is overweight, cosmetic surgery to improve a malformation of the face or any limb, things that are important to the people who suffer from them. You lose the option of making medical decisions for yourself which, in some cases, could be catastrophic. My husband is an example. He was receiving all of his medical care through the V.A. before we were married. He had a blockage in his carotid artery in his neck which went from 70% to 80% in one year. He had had a triple bypass five years ago and had repeatedly requested to be referred to a Cardiologist but his primary care doctor felt it was unnecessary. Since we were married and he was covered under my insurance we took him out of the V.A. for a work up by a private Cardiologist. His heart was fine but that blockage in his neck was not 80%, it was 93% and there was a good chance that he would have a stroke within six months. He had surgery to clean out that artery two weeks later...because he had the option of seeing another doctor. Had he listened to his doctor at the V.A. and waited another year to be retested, he wouldn't have walked into that appointment. So, no, I don't trust government run health care. The doctors at the V.A. care, and they do the best that they can, but they have too many patients and too little time to spend with each one. And, obviously, their testing equipment or the people reading the results are not of a very high quality.

I like the idea of a socialized system. Even though some pay more taxes, everyone benefits in the end. It's not as if you don't get superior health care when you pay more taxes anyway. Being human is also about taking care and seeing to the needs of others. I don't think God gave us life so that we can succeed, be healthy, and be happy at the expense of other people.