U.S. Health Care Second-To-None

As we approach the eleventh hour of the pending health care vote, it's crucial to understand what passage of the current health reform bill means to us all. While the oligarchs in Washington, D.C. (Obama, Pelosi, et al.), continue to push their monstrous reforms, we (the serfs) are left ignorant of their contents. But according to Madame Pelosi, we are not to worry. As she recently commented, "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it..."

What we do know, however, is that every single American would be required to carry government-approved health insurance, or face fines amounting to thousands of dollars. And, yes, the bill authorizes the IRS to act as the enforcer, which would make monthly sweeps of every American's insurance status. Company payrolls would also be monitored for compliance. Those individuals and companies deemed to be in violation (read: law-breakers) would face fines that could be collected via the withholding of tax returns or wage garnishment.

And let's not forget what else such a takeover of 1/6 of the U.S. economy represents (which is an order of magnitude equal to the entire economies of Great Britain or France!): government ownership of 48% of private industry. And you thought this could only happen in Cuba or Venezuela? As Rep. Michele Bachmann has adroitly explained, adding government-run health care to the already government-owned GM, Chrysler, AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the banks, brings the grand total to almost 50% of private industry. In her words, "That's the true Obama story."

Very Soviet, wouldn't you say?

No? Then perhaps you might be thinking that the ends justify the means. Well, let's examine some of those ends.

While liberals and progressives here in the U.S. laud the Canadian health care system, why do Canadians regularly cross the border to seek medical services in American hospitals? Could it be that their median wait time for surgeries or therapeutic treatments is 16 weeks? (Fraser Institute, Oct. 29, 2009) Why would Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams fly to Florida for his heart surgery? Could it be that the Canadian health system has not adopted the latest procedures that are less intrusive and provide the quickest recovery time? Or maybe it was the 16 week wait time - then again, he's 60 years old, so he's already almost dead anyway (at least in the eyes of the Canuck health care bureaucrats). How about the regular airlifts of expectant British Columbian mothers to U.S. hospitals due to bed and neonatal unit shortages?

If our health care system was so medieval, so archaic, so horrid, why the persistent influx of Canadians across our borders, hmm?

While Michael Moore glorified the Cuban health care system in his mockumentary, "Sicko", Comrade Castro flew a Spanish doctor in to perform his intestinal surgery in 2006. Makes you wonder, huh? Then again, where are all those stories about health care tourists descending en masse to that communist mecca?

Then what about Great Britain? Surely they must have a utopian health care system for its citizens. Not so. After years of government finagling with health care laws, British hospitals have begun denying treatment to patients by letting them wait in the ambulances which brought them in for treatment in the first place! Why? As long as the individual is not admitted, he does not have to be treated. Speaking of which, just last week a 22-year old patient died of thirst after 3 days of neglect - while in the hospital. No joke! You can read the UK DailyMail article for yourself. He eventually phoned the police for help, but ultimately died.

These so-called health care utopias are more akin to health care purgatory. What they all have in common is the rationing and denial of care. In their grand economic equations there can be only one variable when cost is considered. At the end of the day, hospitals, doctors, and nurses must get paid by the government, so the one who always gets the raw deal is the patient. After all, it is his treatment that can be varied or denied in the name of cost containment. But what else would you expect when you vote for the government to become a partner in your health?

Our country has the best health care in the world. If you or a family member required immediate life-saving treatment, where but the United States would you go? Our laws require that every individual who seeks treatment in a hospital gets treated. Our system is not perfect, but that is mostly due to government regulation and intrusion. The evil guy here is not the insurance company, it is government. They are to blame for the imperfections in our health care system, and it is they (Democrats) who stand in the way of true health care reform now.

As our elected leaders prepare to vote this weekend, let your voice be heard. Register your opposition to Obamacare at Free Our Healthcare Now!