Spring Break
Not what the doctor ordered
Why America doesn't need a universal health care system
Joseph Goddard, Columnist, jgoddard@smu.edu
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Opinion
This problem exists in Great Britain as well. A June 2007 article in The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that one in eight hospital patients in the government-run system waited over a year for treatment. One month later, the BBC reported that the NHS (Britain's national healthcare agency) had rejected the use of Sutent, a life prolonging cancer drug, for its patients in Scotland because the medication was too expensive. James Whale, a prominent British broadcaster and cancer survivor, called the government's decision a "death sentence" for those living with kidney cancer in Scotland.
The problems with socialized medicine are numerous and widely documented. If such challenges exist in smaller countries such as Canada and Great Britain, how can we possibly expect a universal health care system to work in the United States without drastic tax increases that would cripple our economy? Why would anyone want to be a doctor in a system in which they are underpaid by the government and constrained by its policies and regulations?
While our market-based health care system is by no means perfect and in need of some reforms, it is still among the most technologically advanced and efficient systems in the world. Conservative commentator P.J. O'Rourke once remarked, "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free." Socialized medicine in America would produce a watered-down system that would ultimately benefit no one. With health care being one of the most crucial issues during this election cycle, we must ask ourselves an important question: If everyone has equal access to a health care system that sucks, have we really made any progress?
Joseph Goddard is a junior political science major. He can be reached for comment at jgoddard@smu.edu.
The problems with socialized medicine are numerous and widely documented. If such challenges exist in smaller countries such as Canada and Great Britain, how can we possibly expect a universal health care system to work in the United States without drastic tax increases that would cripple our economy? Why would anyone want to be a doctor in a system in which they are underpaid by the government and constrained by its policies and regulations?
While our market-based health care system is by no means perfect and in need of some reforms, it is still among the most technologically advanced and efficient systems in the world. Conservative commentator P.J. O'Rourke once remarked, "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free." Socialized medicine in America would produce a watered-down system that would ultimately benefit no one. With health care being one of the most crucial issues during this election cycle, we must ask ourselves an important question: If everyone has equal access to a health care system that sucks, have we really made any progress?
Joseph Goddard is a junior political science major. He can be reached for comment at jgoddard@smu.edu.
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