Socialized Medicine Fails, Again
Tags: health care, Socialism/Communism.
Click here to get Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority by Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan.
Like a broken record:
Three years ago, Massachusetts enacted perhaps the boldest state health care experiment in American history, bringing near-universal coverage to the commonwealth with Paul Revere speed.
To make it happen, Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, made an expedient choice, deferring until another day any serious effort to control the state’s runaway health costs.
The day of reckoning has arrived. Threatened first by rapid early enrollment in its new subsidized insurance program and now by a withering economy, the state’s pioneering overhaul has entered a second, more challenging phase.
Thanks to new taxes and fees imposed last year, the health plan’s jittery finances have stabilized for the moment. But government and industry officials agree that the plan will not be sustainable over the next 5 to 10 years if they do not take significant steps to arrest the growth of health spending.
“Arrest the growth of health spending” means “health care rationing” – it is always the result of socialized medicine. When you undertake to promise everyone a thing, everyone will want that thing, and want it really well done. If you are offering people whatever free car they desire, how many people are going to choose the Kia and how many the BMW? As you don’t have an endless supply of BMWs, you’re eventually going to have to work out a system where some people get BMWs, and some get Kias…and as the guy who writes your budget wants a BMW, I think you can see what goes into which parking lot.
There are only so many doctors out there, and among doctors only so many who have a particular specialty. There is only so much money in the budget for overhead, and the budget director can buy another ultra-sound machine, or give a pay raise to the workers whose union is pestering him day in and day out for a raise. Meanwhile, seeing as a doctor or nurse gets paid the same whether they see one or ten patients a day, there’s really no incentive to squeeze that extra appointment in.
And so – you get waiting lists, substandard care, uncaring service providers and bloated administrative budgets, and a lot of people don’t get the care they need because if everyone who needed a kidney transplant got one, it’d bust the budget, even if there were enough staff and equipment to meet the need. But liberals consider this fair – especially liberal leaders, who are sure to set up the system so that they and their families and friends are very well treated by the health care system (in nations with socialized medicine, can any of you out there really imagine the local Prime Minister or even junior legislative back-bencher waiting in line with the unwashed masses for health care?).
Obama now wants to bring this thing nationwide – and he may very well have the votes to carry it through Congress. If we does, we’ll all have health care – if we don’t die before our turn in line comes up.
Thank you for visiting Blogs For Victory. If you enjoy our content, please consider making a donation to help us cover the costs of our servers.Mark Noonan is co-author (with Matt Margolis) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at Nevada News and Views. Follow Mark on Twitter.
37 Responses to “Socialized Medicine Fails, Again”
Caucus of Corruption
we are fast approaching the point that clinton did…either these politicians dedicate a substantial amount of money they dont have in thier budget to this idea…or they do what clinton chose to do…tell the folks nope…not gonna happen…just wont work…and welch on another campaign promise…
not that it would be new…pretty much everthing obamacide represented in the election cycle was election rhetoric…not much of it stands a chance…the only change obamacide and the DNC want is a change of power…which they got by dangling carrots in front of the ox…
Mark
there should be affordable health ins for those who cant afford it, socialized anything is destine to failure.
How do you propose the accomplish affordable health insurance for those who cannot afford it fmr? Easily said, but I don’t see the insurance companies making any efforts to work with these folks. In the US we have the most expensive medical costs and it isn’t working well for our citizens. In so many ways we already have socialized medicine with our insurance companies. You have to go to doctors within the HMO or PPO plans and any time you need treatment you must get approval from those who control the plans. These companies are practicing medicine without a license in my opinion.
vandregg
How do you propose the accomplish affordable health insurance for those who cannot afford it fmr? Easily said, but I don’t see the insurance companies making any efforts to work with these folks.
I dont have the absolute answer, I believe like some other ins’s some sort of large pool.
A company with 100K employees gets better rates that companies with 25 employees.
There are different plans, and deductibles.
We have to learn not to run to the Dr. every time we sneeze or fart.
It wont be an easy fix, but socialized medicine is NOT the answer.
And yet the best healthcare system in the world, the french one, is a state-run, single-payer plan…
But hey, don not let the facts get in the way of your ideological rant.
the health insurance industry in the US is a 3 trillion dollar business..annualy…out of this 3 trillion…the insurance comanies take 900 Billion for thier overhead and profit…
thats whats wrong with health care in america…nearly 1/3 of the money doing into health care never gets there…if the insurance industry were non profit…the existing outlay for health care in the US would be enough to pay for health care for every living person in america…if every person who worked were paying dollar per $100 month for their and thier families heath care…one non profit company could provide care to the entire nation…giving the fact that most doctors recieved financial aid to get thier education…from public contributions…most hospitals recieve federal aid to boot…medical care and insurance should be administred exactly like the post office…which is an independent agency of the USA…suplimented through social securities medicare and medicaid programs…
over 150 million people are in the labor force in the USA…at just $100 per month that would provide 150 billion dollars per month, 1.8 trillion dollars per year…for a national health care program…
if congress cant get it done with that much money…we need to elect new congresspersons…
@ js02
March 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
That’s the definition of socialized medicine. All you have to do is add that the 100/ month comes from collected taxes on vices, motorcycles, firearms, cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, gambling, legalized prostitution, marijuana et cetera.
blochadvocate says:March 17th, 2009 at 10:29 am
gee…satans boyz must be hard of hearing…
(FLUSH…scrubadubdub with comet)
there…sanitized again
bloch
a national sales tax would do just that, those on welfare would also contribute.
wouldnt even have to be a national sales tax…just an employer offered benefit to employee’s…the employer could pick it up as a part of employment…or split the cost with the employee…or charge the employee for the whole shooting match…
at the employee’s option…period…thats why i needed to sanitize that stipidity from the socialist pigs marine…they dont even clue in on the basic thing about capitalism…
js02 says:
March 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
if every person who worked were paying dollar per $100 month for their and thier families heath care…one non profit company could provide care to the entire nation
…
over 150 million people are in the labor force in the USA…at just $100 per month that would provide 150 billion dollars per month, 1.8 trillion dollars per year…for a national health care program
js, you know you ARE supporting nationalized healthcare with those comments, right?
Glad to see you’ve joined our side of the argument.
fmrmarine says:
March 17th, 2009 at 10:37 am
100% behind a national sales tax.
joe
js, you know you ARE supporting
nationalized healthcarea national paid health PLAN with the ability to UPGRADE for a higher fee with those comments, right?bloch
100% behind a national sales tax.
It will never ever happen, the govt has way to much power over every citizen with the IRS.
I would love to see it though we have one in our state and it works fine.
No income tax, no filing with the state, no declaring how much we earn, no audits…everybody pays GREAT!
fmrmarine says:
March 17th, 2009 at 11:44 am
The Income tax is and always will be an illegal tax but that’s another argument for another thread
morons…a voluntary program like the us postal service isnt a “national sales tax”, nor would the voluntary enrollment into a national, non profit insurance program…
nothing you liberals have presented is even close to what i posted…not one of you
like medicare & the federal system aren’t socialist…comon, think wingnuts, think!
I don’t carry water for the for-profit, health care industry anymore.
and neither does us business nor the chamber of commerce.
lastly, priorities are wrong in any country that spends ~2 BILLION a year on pet care but has uninsured citizens.
Did anyone actually read the entire article? It sounds like overall the plan is working. It’s not a single payer system. Government, insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals are all participating. No where in the article does it talk about waiting lists, substandard care, and uncaring service providers.
actually lugnut, socialist programs are not voluntary…people are imposed on the system and have no choice…whereas…you twist bringing medicare into the deal…health insurance..for senior citizens…isnt much more than caring for the weak in society that are not able to care for them selves…charity…greater than faith…is not socilaism…nor are they required to accept it…
think…if you had half the brain you play like you have…free choice…free will…freedom…is your enemy…
“It sounds like overall the plan is working. It’s not a single payer system”
ya, but the state subsidises tax dollars for peoples premiums up to 65k, and requires employers to pay a percentage as well…its a tax based system that feeds the high profit insurance industry with its million dollar executive salaries and hundred million dollar skyrises that should be put toward medical care…while a non profit would have none of those issues…
any legislation that forces citizens to pay more taxes so other people can have insurance is going to fail…its not governments business to pay for these things for the majority of society…we have medicare and medicaid for the brutally poor and seniors and children…
I am very interesrested in what happens in healthcare. I am a protstate cancer survivor. I had a moderately aggresive form and delaying treatment for sometime may have been fatal. I was able to get into a new radiation facility within a couple of months and the treatment was successful. If I had been in a country with rationed medicine I might be dying a painful death right now.
From what I have read in a British newspaper online, the English healthcare system will not pay for a PSA test because they consider the test to be experimental. It has been proven over and over that the PSA is a good indicator for cancer.
Our healthcare dollars are paying for extensive research into prostate cancer and some day we may have an improved PSA that will be a positive indicator.
honestly, research and experimentation are great…but no when they leave half the nation out in the cold without medical care…
“Socialized Medicine Fails Again” indeed.
When Neoconservatives spend time complaining about a status quo that is, without argument, the end result of the free market system, something must be terribly wrong.
So, while “Socialized Medicine Fails Again”, Privatized medicine seems to turn otherwise focused neoconservatives into Michael Moore.
@ js02
February 17, 1971
blochadvocate says:March 17th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
still processing
(flush)
done widat
fooldisclosure says:
March 17th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
you miss the whole problem…its not medicine that failed…its insurance stooge…greedy forkin foreign interests stoke the fires of the greed demon that push the thievery of our investment they do…you wouldnt be like one’a them blokes now wudya?
Part of what’s got people so screwed when they lose their job in this country is that we’ve got employer based health care.
Also, the poor really get screwed over, because they haven’t the money to afford a good insurance plan, and when they get sick, they can’t afford all the expensive treatments. What people don’t get is that while Socialized Medicine (OOoooOOO….Scary socialism) may sound scary, IT WORKS. Just ask anybody from Canada or the UK or France (except for the two or three wingnuts who don’t like it…because they’d rather have the poor suffer).
We’re so far behind the rest of the west it’s ridiculous. I’m embarassed to be an American sometimes….
french,
And who rates it “best”? People who like socialized medicine. How about we send a group of American conservatives to audit France’s health care program?
fool,
Have you no sense at all? We haven’t had a private health care system since the 1960’s…and just when did health care costs start to skyrocket? Right after Medicare and Medicaid were enacted in the 60’s. We have high health care costs because the government has distorted the market for health care – its the same reason we have high education costs. Get government out and allow the market to decide and I guarantee you it won’t cost $1,000 a night just to lie in a hospital bed.
“Mark Noonan says:
March 18th, 2009 at 12:11 am
french,
And who rates it “best”?
”
The United Nations.
frenchy answers:
“The United Nations”
Wow, now there is an upstanding group of corrupt individuals – the most anti-American group in existence.
They also made excuses for and protected Saddam while many of them were on his payroll.
Why do citizens of countries with socialized medicine coming to the United States for treatment? Why aren’t they flocking to France?
Loser.
It sounds like overall the plan is working.
Yes, but that has no bearing on the thinking of people like Mark. He finds the mere concept distasteful, so he’s automatically against it. And if he’s against it, it must be “liberal.” And that must mean that by definition, it’s a failure, even when it’s a success.
Bonjour. comment ca va? Pas bien, evidemment, avec mark, tired, etc.
Je suis vraiment desole que mon pays a des salopes comme mark, tired, fmr, etc.
Anyway, the UN is not “the most anti-american group in existence”. That would be al Qaeda.
They “made excuses for Saddam”????
You mean, they told the F***ING TRUTH about the WMD and ties to al Qaeda?
Also, tired. US citizens up near Canada go there (illegally) routinely for cheap medical treatment. Mark: just because we have some gov’t aid does not mean we have a public health care system. There are still corporations running insurance for people, and our system is still based on profit, not the health of the consumer….another problem with private medicine.
French,
The UN?
Q.E.D.
froot,
Yes, the UN made excuses for Saddam, protected him as much as possible even by disregarding their own resolutions!!!
How many UN ambassadors were receiving cash payments and oil from the “oil for food program” from Saddam to protect him?
The truth? The UN’s division, whose responsibility was to count and witness the destruction of Saddam’s WMDs, own count showed TONS of weapons, shells, biological, chemical and nuclear material not accounted for!!!
The UN’s reaction to this, stall for even more time to count weapons that Saddam would not give them access to!
You are another useful idiot lemming who has no brain cells between your ears. It is nothing but a void, maybe Saddam’s WMDs are hidden there in that grand space.
Unbelievable!
The UN is and has been controlled by socialist countries by socialist ambassadors. They would be more apt to promote their belief rather than promote a system of higher quality.
There is no major socialist country in the world. You should really do some research before you come across as more ignorant than you already have. China’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics” is really capitalism. Russia is also capitalist now, though the echoes of communism, i grant you, are still present (and creeping back with Putin).
Anyway, though the UN found lots of stuff unaccounted for, they also realized that they had not found WMD in Iraq, and informed the US. They turned out to be right, we were wrong (or we were lied to by your fraudulently elected prez– yes I’m still bitter). Saddam also had no ties to al Qaeda.
Are you really so dumb that you continue to subscribe to the philosophy that Iraq had both WMD and ties to bin Laden?
Both of those claims were disproved years ago, and several people lost their jobs (remember Colin Powell? He was bitter enough about the lies and being the fall guy that he went for Obama last election). Mark, please grow up. There is no call for insulting me angrily simply because you’re wrong. There’s bound to be disagreement on this blog. If you can’t handle it without degenerating into juvenile name-calling, don’t comment at all.
froot,
The UN found “lots of stuff unaccouted for”?
So, in other words they are accounted for?
Then why haven’t they (UNSCOM) retabulated their numbers? Look it up! They haven’t.
Did I mention AQ in the whole post? No.
You are using old debunked MOVEON.ORG talking points. Those talking points are so 2005! Come back when have modern information. You are still bitter about the “fraudulent” president? That admission right their shows us what a useful idiot lemming you are. After all the independent recounts, GWB still won. Get over it! Hint: He is no longer President so it doesn’t matter what you believe.
As far as the whole socialist argument. I know the definition of socialism and it applies. I had that argument with oralndo. These countries have the socialism philosophy, but are not named as such. Why are you so afraid of the word “socialism”?
Name-calling? Can’t take the heat stay out of the kitchen.