Socialized Health Care in America – Danger Ahead

Socialized Health Care in America – Danger Ahead
By Cleve Tidwell

American health-care crisis… political watchwords used in countless situations in Washington to strike fear into the souls of man. The current healthcare system is in need of reform. Unfortunately, our left thinking friends seek a strategy for reform that cripples, rather than stimulates, the situation of the American healthcare system. By proposing a single-payer system shown over and over again as a threat to the well-being of American families, a potential obstruction to quality care, and stifling of American individualism against an ever-encroaching Federal government, the Democratic Party has succumbed to the conclusions that Europe made 40 years ago. The people of Europe were ahead with a more socialized medical system, and these countries are coming to grips with the astronomical failures of socialized medicine in their own lands.

Even as early as 1964, an aspiring Western politician named Ronald Wilson Reagan spoke out against "socialized medicine", by any other names, including, "public options" and "single-payer systems", as detrimental to American freedoms.

Included in the Democratic push for governmental intrusion into healthcare is Michael Bennet, our freshman senator. His speech given on the Senate floor mimicked Democratic sentiments on reform, citing the local example of Grand Junction’s healthcare program as visualization for a Federal system. The Western Slope community’s shift towards a centralized medical system was a local decision made by its citizens, not by Federal mandate. What makes our country great is the delegation of power from the Federal government to state and local authorities to maximize individual liberties. This difference allowed the citizens of Grand Junction to alter their system, successfully.

Ironically, the very successes cited by Senator Bennet come as a direct result of less Federal power, as opposed to an increase in Federal controls. Population in Mesa County hovers around 120,000. A similar system would probably not see success rates when mandated by bureaucrats in Washington D. C. Senator Bennet’s insistence that follow-up care does reduce overall long-term costs may be true, but the choice should remain in the hands of a free market where hospitals and insurance companies help determine how to merge this into business costs.

Senator Bennet raised concerns about whether American families will be able to keep their private healthcare if they wish to do so following the introduction of the public option. The public option will create incredible barriers to private care access. For instance, businesses offering insurance to their employees, given increased tax burdens and rising inflation, will be compelled to drastically reduce, or sever completely, insurance to workers, causing an increasing use of the "free" public system. According to Ed Feulner, President of the Heritage Foundation, as many as 119 million Americans will be left with the public option as the only option. Claiming the individual choice to retain private care is inconsistent with the outcome of the single-payer system, and will result in less freedom for families to make important decisions about their healthcare plans.

Socialized medicine, once limited to political organizations, has now filtered over into groups like the American Medical Association, who have expressed concern over President Obama’s plan for healthcare. I commend these doctors, who continue to stand against political sweet-talk and promote the valuable services they offer our nation. Their efforts reflect the American Medical Associations empathy for patients’ rights.

My life experiences have taken me to countries where socialized medicine is the norm. However, I must point out that government run health is not effective. Examples from Canada include people that can afford American Health Care cross the border to get immediate care due to thelong wait in Canada if people in countries with socialized medicine are in need of surgery or special care they are told that in orderto see doctors they will have to wait for weeks and sometimes months. In Japan the care is slow and they are one of the most advanced countries in the world, but they have a single pay system that is not working. The government of Japan is now talking about an increase in the single pay system since the funds are not there to support the program. This is another problem with a government run program. The governments cut services to reduce the cost of running the program, have fewer doctors and raise fees as needed. The people of the country lose all choices and are totally at the mercy of the government.

I watched in Honduras as a friend’s daughter of 25 had stomach problems and went to the doctor. Because she was not wealthy and could notget ahead in the line she stood in line for two days, yes two days. Once there she was told she needed an x-ray. It was scheduled for weeks later. She died a few days later. This is not a rare case.

In Canada the death rate for cancer is much higher than the US due to one drug not being made available in Canada since it is too expensive. Therefore, unless people go to the US to obtain it their cancer is not stopped.

Another area in which Democrats and Republicans should easily be able to find common ground is in fighting healthcare fraud.

If you think this is just tinkering around the edges of healthcare reform, you’re wrong. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a doctor, believes that fully one-third of all health spending is wasted on defensive medicine, red tape and outright fraud. In a system that will spend $2.5 trillion this year, that means that more than $800 billion will go to unnecessary, unproductive and fully preventable spending. I believe that America desperately needs a real change in health care that will never happen if we can’t get beyond this endless debate over government-run healthcare.

 A good start are the suggested principles stated by Past House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The fact is, command-and-control from Washington doesn’t work. Competition, choice and individual control will produce the health system Americans want.

To truly bring down costs and expand coverage we must build a bipartisan agreement focused on four things:

1. Improving individual health by incentivizing prevention, wellness and early health.
2. Giving doctors and hospitals incentives to deliver high-quality care through fair and proper payments.
3. Reforming public programs like Medicare and Medicaid to root out fraud, cut waste and reward quality.
4. Empowering individuals with the information and financial resources they need to be better, more-informed consumers.

The Center for Health Transformation has developed an approach that will improve individual health, lower costs and deliver the best possible care. Tell your representative that any health reform bill must have these basic principles. Please Google Center for Health Transformation.

America can’t afford to let health care move to government control. Americans lives will change beyond anyone’s expectations and the downward spiral of the past America way of live will begin.

I urge you to contact your senators and representatives in Congress and say no to government run health care. 

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