Words Versus Realities
 

Much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I must report the
shocking facts: Medical care is medical care. Nothing more and nothing
less.

This may not seem like a breakthrough on the frontiers of knowledge.
But it completely contradicts what is being said by many of those who
are urging "universal health care" because so many Americans lack
health insurance.

Insurance is not medical care. Indeed, health care is not the same as
medical care. Countries with universal health care do not have more or
better medical care.

The bottom line is medical care. But the rhetoric and the talking
points are about insurance. Many people who could afford health
insurance do not choose to have it because they know that medical care
will be available at the nearest emergency room, whether they have
insurance or not.

This is especially true for young people, who do not anticipate long-
term medical problems and who can always get a broken leg or an
allergy attack taken care of at an emergency room -- and spend their
money on a more upscale lifestyle.

This may not be a wise decision but it is their decision, and there is
no reason why other people should lose the right to make decisions for
themselves because some people make questionable decisions.

If you don't think government bureaucrats can make questionable
decisions, then you haven't dealt with many government bureaucrats.

It is one thing to deal with bureaucrats when you are at the
Department of Motor Vehicles and in good health. It is something else
when you have to deal with bureaucrats when you are lying on a gurney
and bleeding or are doubled over in pain on a hospital bed.

People who believe in "universal health care" show remarkably little
interest -- usually none -- in finding out what that phrase turns out
to mean in practice, in those countries where it already exists, such
as Britain, Sweden or Canada.

For one thing, "universal health care" in these countries means months
of waiting for surgery that American get in a matter of weeks or even
days.

In these and other countries, it means having only a fraction as many
MRIs and other high-tech medical devices available per person as in
the United States.

In Sweden, it means not only having bureaucrats deciding what
medicines the government will and will not pay for, but even
preventing you from buying the more expensive medicine for yourself
with your own money. That would violate the "equality" that is the
magic mantra.

Those who think in terms of talking points, instead of trying to
understand realities, make much of the fact that some countries with
government-controlled medical care have longer life expectancies than
that in the United States.

That is where the difference between health care and medical care
comes in. Medical care is what doctors can do for you. Health care
includes what you do for yourself -- such as diet, exercise and
lifestyle.

If a doctor arrives on the scene to find you wiped out by a drug
overdose or shot through the heart by some of your rougher companions,
there may not be much that he can do except sign the death
certificate.

Even for things that take longer to do you in -- obesity, alcohol,
cholesterol, tobacco -- doctors can tell you what to do or not do, but
whether you follow their advice or not is what determines the
outcome.

Americans tend to be more obese, consume more drugs and have more
homicides. None of that is going to change with "universal health
care" because it isn't health care. It is medical care.

When it comes to things where medical care itself makes the biggest
difference -- cancer survival rates, for example -- Americans do much
better than people in most other countries.

No one who compares medical care in this country with medical care in
other countries is likely to want to switch. But those who cannot be
bothered with the facts may help destroy the best medical care in the
world by falling for political rhetoric.

http://www.tsowell.com/
http://townhall.com/Columnists/ThomasSowell/
_____________________________________________

http://www.jbs.org

Words Versus Realities
 

On Apr 22, 4:26*pm, wrote:
Much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I must report the
shocking facts: Medical care is medical care. Nothing more and nothing
less.

This may not seem like a breakthrough on the frontiers of knowledge.
But it completely contradicts what is being said by many of those who
are urging "universal health care" because so many Americans lack
health insurance.

Insurance is not medical care. Indeed, health care is not the same as
medical care. Countries with universal health care do not have more or
better medical care.

The bottom line is medical care. But the rhetoric and the talking
points are about insurance. Many people who could afford health
insurance do not choose to have it because they know that medical care
will be available at the nearest emergency room, whether they have
insurance or not.

This is especially true for young people, who do not anticipate long-
term medical problems and who can always get a broken leg or an
allergy attack taken care of at an emergency room -- and spend their
money on a more upscale lifestyle.

This may not be a wise decision but it is their decision, and there is
no reason why other people should lose the right to make decisions for
themselves because some people make questionable decisions.

If you don't think government bureaucrats can make questionable
decisions, then you haven't dealt with many government bureaucrats.

It is one thing to deal with bureaucrats when you are at the
Department of Motor Vehicles and in good health. It is something else
when you have to deal with bureaucrats when you are lying on a gurney
and bleeding or are doubled over in pain on a hospital bed.

People who believe in "universal health care" show remarkably little
interest -- usually none -- in finding out what that phrase turns out
to mean in practice, in those countries where it already exists, such
as Britain, Sweden or Canada.

For one thing, "universal health care" in these countries means months
of waiting for surgery that American get in a matter of weeks or even
days.

In these and other countries, it means having only a fraction as many
MRIs and other high-tech medical devices available per person as in
the United States.

In Sweden, it means not only having bureaucrats deciding what
medicines the government will and will not pay for, but even
preventing you from buying the more expensive medicine for yourself
with your own money. That would violate the "equality" that is the
magic mantra.

Those who think in terms of talking points, instead of trying to
understand realities, make much of the fact that some countries with
government-controlled medical care have longer life expectancies than
that in the United States.

That is where the difference between health care and medical care
comes in. Medical care is what doctors can do for you. Health care
includes what you do for yourself -- such as diet, exercise and
lifestyle.

If a doctor arrives on the scene to find you wiped out by a drug
overdose or shot through the heart by some of your rougher companions,
there may not be much that he can do except sign the death
certificate.

Even for things that take longer to do you in -- obesity, alcohol,
cholesterol, tobacco -- doctors can tell you what to do or not do, but
whether you follow their advice or not is what determines the
outcome.

Americans tend to be more obese, consume more drugs and have more
homicides. None of that is going to change with "universal health
care" because it isn't health care. It is medical care.

When it comes to things where medical care itself makes the biggest
difference -- cancer survival rates, for example -- Americans do much
better than people in most other countries.

No one who compares medical care in this country with medical care in
other countries is likely to want to switch. But those who cannot be
bothered with the facts may help destroy the best medical care in the
world by falling for political rhetoric.

http://www.tsowell.com/http://townha.../ThomasSowell/
_____________________________________________

http://www.jbs.org
'
Obamao, you ignorant slut. :)

I know you're ignorant that there are chronic medical conditions like
diabetes and cancer which require daily expense and routine medical
management which is not available from an emergency room.

I know that you are ignorant that over 18,000 Americans die every year
directly due to lack of available medical care.

I know you are a raving lunatic with no regard whatsoever for facts.

When Bush left office, 17% of Americans thought we were going in the
right direction as a nation. Now it's 46% that thinks we are going in
the right direction.

How does it feel to be among the dumbest 17% of Americans, and so out
of touch with reality?

Kook.