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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joe Btfsplk who wrote (123499)	1/24/2001 4:20:58 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

So do you believe we can just vote ourselves free or cheap medical care? Schooling? Cheap electricity? And etc.? No, the law of unintended consequences is always with us. As we see in California -- though I really must point out that it was the utilities who lobbied for the form of deregulation they got; there's no corner on idiocy in that disaster. But I do think that public policy could achieve a better and cheaper medical system than the only we've got -- after all, it's not as if we pay less than the rest of the world for our medical care; we pay much more. And just try asking how many people are thrilled with their HMO's service? or have any "free-market" choice about their coverage? Contrary to the propaganda that the insurance lobby puts out, most Germans and Canadians are quite happy with their medical insurance. Even in this country, most Hawaiins are happy to have the option of government-sponsored insurance. So there are some real-world examples to be studied. Like anything else, it can be done well or badly, but I think it should be attempted. Health care can never really be a free market, because when you need it you're rarely in a position to shop around. However the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry have the bucks to stop any attempt. I would welcome even modest attempts to put individual coverage on an equal playing field with corporate-sponsored coverage. But I don't expect any from the Bush administration.