http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/12/a_conservative_case_for_univer... (quoted verbatim and in its entirety) December 12, 2007 A Conservative Case for Universal Health Coverage By Randall Hoven I am a small-government conservative/libertarian and have hated the concept of socialized medicine almost all my life.  But now, I could live with universal health coverage in the U.S..  Here's why. We now have the worst of both worlds: we are paying for universal health coverage, but not getting it.  In fact, we pay more for health care in taxes than countries that provide universal coverage.  Then we pay more than that amount again in private coverage.  Additionally, what we have now in the U.S. is nowhere near a free market in health care.  Defending the status quo is not defending a free market.  And if socialized medicine is your fear, we already have it. I've heard no one, on either side of the political spectrum, play up the fact that the government in the U.S. already spends more on health care than almost every other country on earth.  I'm talking government spending, not private spending.  According to the U.S. Statistical Abstract, government spending on health care in the U.S was $2,168 per person in 2001 (the last year for which comparison data are available).  Here were the top 10 government spenders on health care in 2001.   a.. Norway:          $2,550   b.. U.S.:               $2,168   c.. Denmark:        $2,098   d.. Iceland:           $2,025   e.. Sweden:          $1,832   f.. Germany:        $1,803   g.. France:            $1,599   h.. Canada:           $1,531   i.. UK:                 $1,518   j.. Belgium:           $1,417. If we add in private spending as well, it's not even close.   a.. U.S.:              $4,887   b.. Switzerland:    $3,690   c.. Norway:         $2,982   d.. Denmark:        $2,545   e.. Iceland:           $2,441   f.. Germany:        $2,407   g.. Canada:           $2,161   h.. Sweden:          $2,149   i.. Netherlands:    $2,134   j.. France:            $2,104. Note that the countries frequently cited as models of universal health care, Canada and the U.K., spent less on public health than the U.S. did.  Sweden, the notorious welfare state, spent 15% less than the U.S..  The only country to spend more, Norway, has about the size and population of Colorado, with oil exports over 3 million barrels per day. Even as a fraction of GDP, government in the U.S. spent a comparable amount to other nations (6.6% in 2002).  Canada spent just slightly more (6.7%), and Japan and the U.K. spent less (6.4%).  Only seven countries of the 28 countries listed spent a greater fraction of GDP on public health funding than the U.S.. What about the private side, the free market side?  There, government regulates the health industry and mandates what health insurance must cover. While the U.S. does not have universal health coverage, it has had universal health care since 1986.  Any person who goes to an emergency room in virtually any hospital in the country must be examined and then either treated or transferred to another hospital for treatment if the condition requires immediate care. According to the Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI), By the late 1960s, state legislatures had passed only a handful of mandated benefits; today, CAHI has identified more than 1,900 mandated benefits and providers.  And more are on their way.  According to CAHI, such mandates include:   a.. Providers such as chiropractors and podiatrists, but also social workers and massage therapists;   b.. Benefits such as mammograms, well-child care and even drug and alcohol abuse treatment, but also acupuncture and hair prostheses (wigs); and,   c.. Populations such as adopted and non-custodial children. Then there are federal mandates such as minimum hospital stays for  baby deliveries, equal coverage caps for both mental and physical health benefits and reconstructive surgery after mastectomies. According to the CATO Institute, the net cost of health regulation in the U.S. is over $169 billion, or an average of $1,500 per household. So let's review.  The government provides Medicare for the old, Medicaid for the poor, veterans' hospitals for veterans, medical research funding and whatever else adds up to 6.6% of GDP.  The federal government forces hospitals to provide emergency treatment to all comers.  State governments mandate over 1,900 types of coverage on health insurance.  Health care regulations cost the average household over $1,500. We already have socialized medicine and we are already paying for it

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/12/a_conservative_case_for_univer... *All* of the conservative professionals I know are on board for non-profit (or government) run, universal, single payer system. The inefficiencies of the current system are simply not fiscally sound. The numbers tell the story. The Obstructionist New Republicans have sold out to the for-profit med system, in an attempt to bloody the Boss, and are doing a huge disservice to the country via our health and our wallets. dick The True Spirit of '08:   <http://tinyurl.com/2j78qt The Boss Confronting The American Taliban Ž   <http://tinyurl.com/bt75g8     (he's right behind me, isn't he?)

What the US calls socialism (we smile when we see these comments) we call social justice or more academically the social wage or dividend Australia pays to it's citizens. Socialism is really when the butcher shop etc is owned or run by the government - yuk! When some of the tax take is returned via a social program like health care you are protecting the nation and ensuring greater wealth will be created. It tends to work that way in most places that have universal care coverage... but it seems to me (and I might be wrong here) that the US culture is simply so houseproud and so certain that it's the best country in the world that it's just not capable of admitting that it's not the best in some ways (don't get me wrong, in many ways, it *is*), and that it could easily do better with healthcare insurance (and cover every US citizen properly) if it would just admit the truth and do a little work to change it.

In news: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it the killer robot Organfreak <pl...@p_link_ety.plunk grabbed the controls of the spaceship cakewalk.coffeehouse and pressed these buttons... it seems to me (and I might be wrong here) that the US culture is simply so houseproud and so certain that it's the best country in the world It's that stupid false pride, _base_d on virtually nothing. Bullshit! Just look at how much power we have.  We can wreck the *ENTIRE* planet's economy!!!  Show me another country that can do that!   Glennbo, meet China! Yeah, I guess if they stopped buying our US treasury bills, they could do some damage to the global economy.   <g They could do a lot more damage than that if they started *selling* them.