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by MattLaroche
5195 days ago
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At the same time, America treats emergency healthcare as a right and then the rest of society pays those bills. It's probably cheaper for people to get care before it gets to the emergency level. It certainly results in better quality of life. |
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Why don't we use that rationale to justify complete regulation of food consumption? Let's have the government force all citizens to eat a vegan diet. The economies of scale would certainly make it cheaper to consume. Overall health would improve. And we would all have a better quality of life...
Except for that little word "force". What if I feel like a milkshake today or a nice juicy steak every once in a while? If I can afford it, and it doesn't hurt anyone else (humans at least), I should be free to purchase those things.
When you're required to eat things, or required to pay for things... OR GO TO PRISON, you're not really free anymore, and that's why Americans don't like government programs like ACA or socialized health care. It might make sense on paper and look just like a big insurance pool, but in reality, it looks more like a centrally planned market, where price signals and efficiencies are non-existant, because when your doctor has a guaranteed paycheck from Uncle Sam, he lacks an incentive to make sure you get the best care. When medical students realize that reimbursement rates have dropped to the point that they can't afford to repay their student loan for a very long time, we'll get fewer doctors, or standards will drop.
I'd rather pay a little bit extra for poor people to get free care than to force me into a one-size fits all plan with long wait times for special procedures. Let's at least fix the problem of poor people not being able to afford a decent level of care before we force everyone into a one-size fits all government program with promises it can't keep, like Social Security and Medicare.