Claims to the contrary, the facts speak for themselves.
First, look at the veteran hospitals if you want to compare the kind of care given in private versus government-run healthcare. Over the past 25 years, I have visited different veteran hospitals on many occasions. The care is minimal and at times atrocious. I have seen veterans admitted, only to be left in filthy rooms for hours before someone came to clean the room from the discharge of the last patient. The veteran has no say in what doctor treats him or whether or not the one that treated him the last time is ever seen again. Consequently, it provides an alarmingly impersonal environment.
Second, there is no recourse. In a private system there are surely incompetent healthcare professionals, but there is always recourse for a patient who is dissatisfied. The patient can go to another doctor, hospital…but not under a government-run system. If you think that you will have more freedom, better care, and recourse for complaints, just remember some of your DMV experiences.
Third, it is absolutely misleading for the President to say that his system will allow everyone to keep his private insurance if he so desires. Whether he is being hypocritical or just simply naive, I know not. Consequently, I am more than happy to assume that it is in fact naïveté.. While there is more than one reason this is not true, I mention one that is undeniable.
This was the basic argument for government controlled education–often referred to as public but we had those before the government took over education. On a state level, the state may choose to reject a federal-mandated requirement, but for all practical purposes, the state cannot because its schools would lose millions of federal dollars that are given only to schools that comply. Losing the money is, according to modern educational standards, the death knell or the unpardonable sin. Of course, the money the federal government withholds in such cases was actually taken from the states–the people–through federal taxation. This is the way the federal government can control public education even more than the law allows, which is in itself extreme.
Even more dastardly is how it plays out with individuals being allowed to keep their private insurance and not have to take the government healthcare if they so desire. That sounds good, but it is not reality for most. The public school system provides a clear picture of what will actually eventuate once federal healthcare is in place for a while.
While it is true that individuals are legally free to send their children to private schools, it is only true for those who are financially well off enough to pay the taxes it costs to run the government school and pay the tuition costs of the private school, which only a very small percentage of the population can do. Consequently, as with government run and funded education, reducing the amount of discretionary spending individuals have to apply to the education of their choice, the same will be true with healthcare.
The liberals’ claim to want to help the family and high view of human life is once again seen to be empty. As they took the privilege and responsibility away from families for education, teaching morals in community settings, deciding where to invest the lion share of their income, being responsible for retirement and ailing family members, this move will allow government to control more of people’s lives by simply taxing any behavior that they don’t like or that they can show is costing the healthcare system, whereas now an insurance company could incentivize good behavior but not coerce it.
