Socialized medicine comes at high cost
Regarding your July 7 letter “Real reform requires health care for all”: This nation has a serious shortage of physicians, a problem caused by government interference in medical care that is predicted to dramatically worsen in the near future.
Medicare pays physicians less than is needed to cover overhead. This pay will soon be cut further. Students do not wish to spend the money and time to become a physician under these circumstances. Medicare is a single-party payer, which is another name for socialized medicine.
The letter writer insists we install socialized medicine in the U. S. Where will the physicians come from to implement this “affordable health care to all”? He says health care “remains a matter of social and economic justice and human rights.” The Constitution guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. Any program that requires money cannot be guaranteed as a “right.” Otherwise, grocery stores would be required to give food away, as would farmers.
If I thought socialized medicine worked, I would be all for it. Idealistically, socialized medicine would provide “health care to all,” but reality shows us otherwise. England has had socialized medicine for over 50 years. If it works, why is one of the fastest-growing industries in England private health insurance?
We have had the best medical care system in the world. That is, we provide more and better care to a greater number of people than any other country. Patients without insurance can get medical care. Most physicians and hospitals take care of many indigent patients. Also, health insurance does not guarantee receiving medical care. Our system has problems, but fewer than with socialized medical systems in other countries.
More than half of U.S. physicians do not accept Medicare patients. Should we implement socialized medicine, I would predict the few physicians we have left would take care of private patients only. One guess as to who will fail to receive medical care under these circumstances.