The National Center for Policy Analysis points to a Washington Times article about another of the "hidden costs" of socialized medicine.
This one should get the attention of even those elderly folks who are more prone to embrace socialism because of their dependence on it (Social Security, Medicare, etc.).
The NCPA piece summarizes what happens with European socialized medicine:
- More expensive drugs and treatments with fewer side effects are set aside for younger patients, while less expensive drugs are given to the elderly because of budgetary constraints in a system providing "free" health care.
- Studies of kidney dialysis show that more than a fifth of dialysis centers in Europe and almost half of those in England have refused to treat patients over 65 years of age.
- If governments continue these policies, euthanasia will soon be the price that the solidarity principle of the European welfare states imposes on the very old and the very sick.
From the Washington Times article "Costly 'affordable' health care" by Paul Belien yesterday:
John Stossel is right. Last week he wrote that the "Healthy Wisconsin" scheme, passed in that state's Senate and offering supposedly "free" socialized health care, is good for America because people apparently need bad examples. As Mr. Stossel says, "We need laboratories of failure to demonstrate what socialism is like. All we have now is Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, the U.S. Post Office, and state motor-vehicle departments. It's not enough. Wisconsin can show the other 49 states what 'universal' [health] coverage is like. I feel bad for the people in Wisconsin... but it's better to experiment with one state than all of America."
Here's what Stossel says about Wisconsin's "free" health care:
In addition, as the Journal put it, "Wow, is 'free' health care expensive. The plan would cost an estimated $15.2 billion, or $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes."
And, of course, down the road it will cost much more than that. Even the $15 billion is based on the usual Pollyannaish assumptions such as millions in savings "from putting more emphasis on primary care."
Stossel also points out something I've been saying for a long time: that government meddling has a great deal to do with why the cost of health care is so high:
Does it never occur to the progressives that the legislature's intrusion into private contracts is one reason health care and health insurance are expensive now? The average annual health-insurance premium for a family in Wisconsin is $4,462 partly because Wisconsin imposes 29 mandates on health insurers: Every policy must cover chiropractors, dentists, genetic testing, etc. Think chiropractors are quacks? Too bad. You still must pay them to treat people in your state.
Want to buy insurance from another state, like nearby Michigan, where an average policy costs less? Too bad. It's against the law to buy across state lines. Your state's Big Brother knows best.
This regulatory meddling, in addition to the government's existing forays into socialized medicine (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP/SCHIP, etc.) have a lot to do with why the cost of health care has shot past the ability of the average American to pay without over-regulated insurance.
Socialists always think that the last failure of socialism was just because the last bunch of Marxists weren't smart enough, or enough money wasn't thrown at it.
Maybe if they see that American Marxism is just as doomed to failure as European and Asian Marxism, maybe at least average Americans will wake up and reject this road to a dead-end promise that's paved with broken dreams.
Socialism promises you can have your cake and eat it too...and it never, ever, ever delivers.
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