WILLisms.com: Quotational Therapy: Part 95 -- Bush, On Healthcare.

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Quotational Therapy: Part 95 -- Bush, On Healthcare.

Rejecting Socialism's Temptation

To make our health care system work for all Americans, we have to choose between two philosophies: one that trusts government to make the best decisions for the people's health care, or one that trusts the people and their doctor to make the best decisions for their health care. (Applause.)
We know from experience which of these systems works best. Other nations that have adopted for bigger government and more centralized control now have long waits for treatment for the people. The quality of care is lower. There's less technological innovation. In America, as you know, we follow a different path. We lead the world in health care because we believe in a system of private medicine that encourages innovation and change.

Read the entire May 1, 2006 speech here.

For all the talk of our terrible health care system, how many countries in the world not named "The United States of America" have people from all over the world coming for major medical procedures?

When my father-in-law had major open heart surgery in Houston, the waiting room was full of people from other countries.

Houston and many other American cities are meccas for sick people from all over the world, as there is little or no affordable, effective, innovative, and available open heart surgery in most countries. The same thing goes for other high-difficulty procedures.

The U.S. is the pioneer, because we're one of the few major economies without socialized medicine. The same goes for prescription drugs. The United States produces the innovations, and most of Europe (and Canada, etc.) is the ultimate economic "free rider," thereafter.

If anyone ought to be rooting against socialized medicine in the United States, it's people in other countries, with socialized medicine. If we nationalize our health care system, America's wonderful innovations won't trickle down elsewhere, and foreign folks in real need of medical attention won't be able to seek it in the United States after being rejected or wait-listed ad infinitum in their own countries. Meanwhile, all those wonderful subsidies on prescription drugs the Canadians and others enjoy will become less and less meaningful as fewer new drugs are brought to market in one of the only remaining medical markets-- the United States.

There's certainly a need for health policy reform in the United States, including reducing the lotto-litigation cycle and addressing the rapidly approaching demographic changes, but Marxism, espoused by so many Democrats, is not the answer.

Keep the guaranteed bureaucratic stagnation out of American medicine.

Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

Teddy Roosevelt, On Immigration & Assimilation

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational therapy on Monday and Friday.

Posted by Will Franklin · 2 May 2006 11:00 AM

Comments

The same goes for prescription drugs. The United States produces the innovations, and most of Europe (and Canada, etc.) is the ultimate economic "free rider," thereafter.

Meanwhile, all those wonderful subsidies on prescription drugs the Canadians and others enjoy will become less and less meaningful as fewer new drugs are brought to market in one of the only remaining medical markets-- the United States.

Thank you!!!

I don't know how many times I've explained this to people. The main reason Canada and teh EU can have their socialized health care is because the R&D portion is subsidized by US. Most people usually get it after it's explained, but they're ignorant because this aspect is something that just isn't talked about.

StargazerA5

Posted by: StargazerA5 at May 2, 2006 02:40 PM

Yay!...I agree. The government needs to get out of the medicine business. The FDA has too much power.

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at May 2, 2006 04:37 PM

I have a post up at ski-blog.com about a fellow blogger in Canada that needed an MRI. Wait time--four months or more.

He called up Buffalo, NY, and paid $450 and had his MRI the next day. Free and wait 4 months or $450? And this is to find out if he needs an arthroscopic surgery or not.

Canada has great prescription drug prices for US Seniors. But why don't US Seniors go to Canada for cheap quick MRIs? Because in Canada you can get all the US Subsidized drugs for cheap you want, but you wait 4 months plus for an MRI. So we go there to get drugs and they come here if they can afford it to get treatment when the wait is too long.

I would rather pay more to be able to get my health take care of just like I would pay more to get a steak dinner than a cheeseburger. Just like I tip my waitress more when my food is served hot as opposed to late and luke warm. I demand service from waiters and waitresses and pay more for quality meals. Why in the hell would I accept sub-par service for free from my healthcare? Soup kitchens are free and Ruth's Chris is damned expensive, but I would rather pay for my food to get what I want. We offer everything from soup kitchens to Ruth's Chris and they simply offer mass produced crap served late and cold.

The government could feed the entire country very efficiently if they had massive government run cafeterias too. There would be no obesity and they could ration food. They could also save billions by providing us all the generic scratchy nasty single ply toilet paper instead of us being able to buy Charmin. But we would get the same thing as we do with socialized medicine as we do with generic toilet paper--chapped asses and the inability to get rid of the shit that is wrong with us.

Posted by: Justin B at May 3, 2006 05:43 AM

Justin-- Good summary. It is a simple exchange: Time for money. The Canadian assertion is that people do not have money. That would be a simplistic argument and false. Another argument is that some people do not have the time! Canadians routinely cross our border to get the MRI or anything else. Their problem then becomes attempting to get reimbursed by their formerly socialist/liberal government. We should be free to choose in the USA.

Posted by: Chief RZ at May 3, 2006 08:58 AM

Cheif...Exactly! With all the technology to choose from. We should be able to choose for ourselves with our doctor without the Govt. or the insurance co's deciding what is best for us. We are all individuals and have individual needs. Socialized medicine doesn't fit in many aspects of medicine or research.

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at May 3, 2006 11:17 AM