"Universal Health Care" is just another way of saying government controlled healthcare. Bad idea?

Question

Do you REALLY want the government controlling private industry? It's SOCIALISM! Look at public schools and public housing. These things are the bottom of the barrel. Government schools are dangerous and sub-standard. Government housing is dangerous and sub-standard.

I can't believe Americans will swallow public healthcare. Aren't we smarter than that?

Answer 1

I agree

Answer 2

With 47 million people without any health care at all the US is the laughing stock and embarrassment to the world. A solution must be found and we've seen that the medical industry doesn't want to kill the golden calf of bloated healthcare costs, the drug companies do not want to stop their 2,000 and 3,000 percentage profits from their drugs, the AMA sure doesn't want to tell doctors that they'll have to do without that 3rd vacation home in Aruba. The health care industry needs to be regulated. The industry refuses to do it themselves so some type of government control or monitoring is absolutely needed. There are many countries around the world with good universal health care for their citizens. It can work.

Answer 3

My heavens, I never have been flashed, but I did unintentionally flash a few folks once. I was in the hospital some time back and decided to take a stoll to the vending area. Well, I wasn't thinking about what I was wearing and, let's just say that those hospital gowns don't leave a lot to the imagination on the backside. The nurse came up from behind me and put a blanket over my shoulders . . . I was wondering why it was a little drafty back there!

Answer 4

I strongly doubt we'll need to worry about socialized healthcare anytime soon. Didn't Oregon have a referendum on it a few years back and wasn't it defeated by something like a four-to-one margin? And this is a state that is something like 80% pot-smoking hippies or something like that.

Of course, when it comes to representing the will of the majority, our federal government has fallen pitifully short as of late. Take illegal immigration for example. A solid 60% of us want the illegal invaders deported -- at any cost -- yet the federal government ignores our petitions.

Answer 5

Government provided health care does not have to mean government control of all health care. The government can still allow private health care for those who can afford it, and provide care for those who can't.

Disease and injuries kill more of us than crime or foreign enemies. Why shouldn't the government be involved in protecting its citizens against sickness and injury?

You should be able to use a private doctor, or private hospital if you can and want to, just as you can hire a private detective or security guards. I certainly would not want the government taking over religious hospitals or even private hospitals, but I have no objection to the government setting up and operating public clinics and hospitals for those who can't afford the private ones.

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Answer 6

We have the 2nd highest mortality rate for newborns in the modern world. (http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/)

A recent WHO survey ranked the United States 37th in overall health system performance -- sandwiched between Costa Rica and Slovenia. This dismal showing occurred despite the fact that the United States spends more on health care -- 13.7% of its gross domestic product -- than any other of the 191 WHO nations.

Healthcare is a RIGHT of every human. It should not be up to insurance companies to decide who lives or who dies because of who can pay their overpriced premiums.

It also is hurting on getting and keeping international companies establishing their factories in this country. They are forced to supply insurance for their employees. That increases the costs of doing business here versus other nations.

Maybe YOU need to learn a little and stop assuming the US can do no wrong. We don't have the best healthcare system, not by a long shot.

Here endth the lesson.

Answer 7

Socialism does a rather good job with the road system, right? And the military is socialist, and they kick a^^. Government already controls who can become doctors, pharmacist and nurses, that's socialism.

If you need treatment for an injury or illness, you aren't going to have time to shop around for the right price or service, so government controlling prices is appropriate as those licensed by government have a monopoly on who can provide their services. Government being a prime payer for those services would be good for a group discount, as it cuts through paper work and reduces overhead.

Answer 8

I like the idea of Socialism, and I REALLY want government control of healthcare. They control everything else, why can't they give the poor and middle class a break and let us afford healthcare. Remember when Ronald Regan threw all the mentally ill on the streets in the 1980's? That wasn't right was it?

Answer 9

for every hundred dollars you put into a government program only one of those dollars actually helps the people whom it was intended for. the bureaucracy eats up all the rest. socialized medicine is a bad deal.

Answer 10

You make a good point... if government health care is such a good idea, why do they feel the need to market it with a neater sounding word like universal? Shouldn't it sell itself?

Answer 11

There are millions of people who can't afford health insurance. If you're so smart, whats your solution?