Posted by
David Wood, M.D. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 12:00:00 AM
THE MEDICAL ARROGANCE OF THE LEFT
It is exasperating and deeply perturbing to witness the resounding brazenness of the present Democrat party in office today pronouncing their erroneous assessment of the need for nationalized health care. They announce three things that they insist must be done:
1. improve medical care
2. bring medical costs down
3. everyone should have medical insurance
First off, in 1965 the present flat broke Medicare program was rammed onto the public. Inefficiency of government bureaucracy, ever-decreasing doctor reimbursement but ever-increasing physician overhead costs, and government-mandated “emergency” medical care without reimbursement by government regardless of people’s ability to pay have negatively altered private medicine.
Secondly, the huge government bureaucracy drove the cost of medical delivery up far beyond any necessary cost of usual medical care alone. The only way to reduce unnecessary costs is to remove government bureaucratic costs, not increase them.
Forced insurance coverage for all is equivalent to forcing everyone to kneel before the king. The cost of setting up such a coercive plan and adding an extensive enforcement system is always horrendous. Voluntary, individual action to self-insure is demonstrably more efficient and less costly. Many of today’s “uninsured” choose to be so.
Presently to attempt to add a colossally expensive (and inefficient) nationalized health care plan on top of the recently-passed massive budget deficits is unconscionable. In fact, the only real reason for promoting this plan in the first place is to create control (power) over medical care of the nation. The whole program is another furtive means to increase taxes.
To see this unfolding is a source of great dismay to me, a retired physician who experienced the former free-market exchange of the healthy doctor-patient relationship.
David L. Wood, M.D., Long Beach, CA, May 13, 2003; word count 297.