National Health

Posted by Nicholas.  If you have a look at Midtopia you’ll see a very well thought out posting about healthcare in the USA.  The usual arguments pro and against the current system contrasted with universal free healthcare.  One thing you have to give the upholders of the status quo: they have done a brilliant scare job on a huge number of people.  People who say “socialized medicine” with indrawn breath and McCarthyesque paranoia. People who think that the best guardians of the nation’s health are private companies that exist for the benefit of their shareholders, insurance companies who prosper best when they find the most excuses not to pay out to their clients.  People who think it perfectly natural for the collection agency to be an integral part of the healthcare system. All of which makes me, as someone who has experienced both kinds of system, ask when American is going to grow up and join the rest of the civilized world with a healthcare system that doesn’t regard ability to pay as important, but need for treatment as the most vital consideration.