The hell on earth of national health

Ilana Mercer tells about an experience many years ago in a Canadian hospital when her daughter, with a badly broken arm, almost lost her life due to the kind ministrations of nationalized health. She compares the Canadian system to the then still free and thriving private medical system in South Africa, from which she and her husband had just emigrated, and the private system in the U.S., to which they subsequently immigrated. It was an American doctor, ten years after the Canadian incident, who explained to her how Canada’s single payer system had led directly to the specific incompetent treatment that almost killed her daughter.

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Karen writes from England:

Welcome to the NHS. That is just like what we have in Britain. These systems are political footballs and cannot provide all the services which the Government promises. However, once the electorate get free medical care, they abuse it in large numbers. Hospitals become part of their social lives. Countless people waste hospital time, have unnecessary investigations, treatments and operations, all of course paid by the tax payer. The costs rise but the politicians cannot remove free care as it is like taking away a child’s toys. Once the electorate have got the idea of free things, they won’t give them up. Britain’s health care system is many years behind the rest of Europe.

It looks like you may be getting the same thing.

LA replies:

Please don’t assume that bad things are going to happen, as though they were assured. Resist and fight bad things, don’t surrender to them. This fight is very much in the air, and the proposal has run into huge resistance including from Democrats. Why act as though it’s over and that we’re doomed to have our own NHS?

Ben W., writes:

I realize that Obama is wide open to criticism. However his policies are crafted by others. Timothy Geithner, Larry Summers, Eric Holder, etc. In the main, the health care policy has been written by Congressional Democrats. In some respects, Obama is a front man for policies constructed by his party and cabinet. To what degree do they bear responsibility?

August 1

Larry G. writes:

You are right that we should not just roll over and assume these things will be passed. The vote has been put off until after the congressional recess, and that gives us plenty of opportunities to confront our representatitives and senators in person and by mail/FAX/email to let them know that we oppose this. We have to get involved and fight it in every way we can. The only thing most congressmen care about is getting reelected, and they are all up for reelection in 2010. If we can put the fear of certain defeat into them, we can kill this, at least for now. It is particularly important that people with Democrat representatitives get involved, since they hold all the votes.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 31, 2009 06:52 AM | Send