Healthcare Cautions

Yesterday, David Asman wrote, from recent first hand experience, an outstanding comparison of the British health care sytem and the American, "There's No Place Like Home - What I learned from my wife's month in the British medical system". His wife had a stroke while the two of them were vacationing in England and spent months in the health care systems of both countries.

"When I covered Latin America for The Wall Street Journal, I'd visit hospitals, prisons and schools as barometers of public services in the country. Based on my Latin American scale, Queen's Square would rate somewhere in the middle. It certainly wasn't as bad as public hospitals in El Salvador, where patients often share beds. But it wasn't as nice as some of the hospitals I've seen in Buenos Aires or southern Brazil. And compared with virtually any hospital ward in the U.S., Queen's Square would fall short by a mile."

Today Michelle Malkin has a post entitled "THE NIGHTMARE OF HILLARYCARE" where she includes a post about the tauted Canadian Health system. Good reading both.

Two cautionary tales:
-David HaLevi on the Canadian health care system's deadly consequences
- David Asman on the British health care system's shortcomings

As you read both these cautionary tales, do not fall into the trap of believing that socialized medicine is totally ineffective. I agree with Michelle that "Hillarycare" would be a disaster and most Americans were smart enough to realize it. However, we already have various forms of socialized medicine in effect in the U.S. I myself have been given a choice and I have opted for socialized health care. I am happy with it, yet I would not want the entire country under such a plan, as then I would have no other options in instances where I want different care. It would also eliminate competition, and competition, as we all know results in superior options for everyone. Professor Jacob S. Hacker of Yale University laid out a plan labeled "Medicare Plus". It simply expands on Medicare to create a system that provides universal coverage while allowing choice, access and flexibility. Here is Jacob S. Hacker's presentation "Medicare Plus: Increasing Health Care Coverage by Expanding Medicare".

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