More Feedback on Socialized Medicine

Some more feedback on my campaign to oppress the little people (anti-socialized medicine).

This from Erin in Madison, SD:

Bob, do you have some evidence to support your claim that " . . . they'll go [to the ER] anytime they feel the slightest sniffle or headache, just like they do in countries that have a NHS (England, Canada, etc)."

My husband and recently lived in Canada for several months while I was in grad school (at Regent College studying theology). Legally, we had to participate in their provincial health plan, and we never went to the doctor or ER. (Incidentally, we paid less in premiums and extra taxes for our health coverage there than we do here--and we had FAR better coverage in Canada.) I have an American ex-pat friend who has lived in Canada for years and says that despite the waiting period she had for a recent non-emergency surgery, she would take Canada's system over ours any day. In fact, I never encountered a Canadian who would rather replace their system for one like ours. And I didn't know of anyone who abused their system by going to the ER when they didn't need it.

Thanks.

Thanks, Erin. Yes, I do. I have the empirical evidence of my observations when I was in the military (that health care system operates in a similar fashion to that of a national health service), and the years I lived in England and observed the behavior of British citizens. I also have friends in Canada and have observed their behavior as well.

While not everyone will run to the doctor for the sniffles in those settings (I didn't, and know that not everyone does), many will do so--enough to explode costs and bog the system down. Especially when the definition of "needing" medical attention is subjective.

It's not surprising that many Canadians wouldn't trade their system for ours; there is comfort in knowing the nanny state will take care of your every need...even if they do it in a shoddy fashion.

Thanks for writing!