While I agree with much of what you said, the following is incorrect:
American health care is expensive for two basic reasons:
a) It is the best in the world, and
b) American health care subsidizes the rest of the world's health care because they can't pay for it on their own.
You need to add:
c) Most medical jobs pay very well.
d) There is significant costs associated with malpractice and the USA legal system.
e) There is a very inefficient payment system with very high effective overhead.
These three are major issues, indeed, more major I think in terms of $ than the two you listed. I happen to think they have almost nothing to do with trying to switch the system to a government run monopoly, which is what lots of people think should happen, and I'm afraid O might have tendencies that way as well. They should instead be dealt with directly.
But your main point remains correct: Many Americans seem to think that top notch health care is a "right" and they should be free to consume as much of it as they "need" or "want". What they neglect to point out when looking at the socialised systems is that those systems effectively ration care, thus restricting expenses.
The example I like to use is consider what would happen to total cost of transportation in the USA if instead of buying our own cars with money we earn, we instead bought "transportation insurance" which then paid for our car whenever we had need of a new one. When you go to get your new car, of course you want the best, why would you choose a cheap and dangerous model. Oops, there goes cost containment. Think of all the games that would then develop between auto manufacturers, insurance providers, and the consuming public. Heck, after awhile, why not switch to a single payer, and let the government buy our new cars for us. After all, surely it is every American's "right" to have a new car, and clearly, the government would be the best source of providing that right!
LOL! |
