Re: 10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care Originally Posted by herring_RN 
Those 10 Excellent reasons are:
1. It's good for our health.
2. It costs less and saves money.
3. It will assure high quality health care for all Americans, rich or poor.
4. It's the best choice - morally and economically.
5. It may be a matter of life or death.
6. It will let will let doctors and nurses focus on patients, not paperwork.
7. It will reduce health care disparities.
8. It will eliminate medical debet.
9. It will be good for labor and business.
10. It's what most Americans want - and we can make it happen.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1...045/529/674753
1. It's
not good for our health, there isn't a single government agency that runs efficiently, do we really want an organization that developed the U.S. Tax Code handling something as complex as health care?
2. It does
not cost less and it does
not save money, we must pay for it with taxes; expenses for health care would have to be paid for with higher taxes or spending cuts in other areas such as defense, education, etc.
Healthy people who take care of themselves will have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese, etc.
3. It will
not assue high quality health care for all Americans, rich or poor. Government-mandated procedures will reduce doctor flexibility and lead to poor patient care.
If government paid for everything under one plan, you could in theory go to any doctor. However, some controls are going to have to be put in to keep costs from exploding. i.e., would "elective" surgeries such as breast implants, wart removal, hair restoration, and lasik eye surgery be covered? Then you may say, that's easy, make patients pay for elective surgery. Although some procedures are obviously not needed, who decides what is elective and what is required? What about a breast reduction for back problems? What about a hysterectomy for fibroid problems? What about a nose job to fix a septum problem caused in an accident? Whenever you have government control of something, you have one item added to the equation that will most definitely screw things up--politics. Suddenly, every medical procedure and situation is going to come down to a political battle. The compromises that result will put in controls that limit patient options. The universal system in Canada forces patients to wait over 6 months for a routine pap smear. Canada residents will often go to the U.S. or offer additional money to get their health care needs taken care of.
4. It's
not the best choice morally and ethically. There are scores of problems that we wouldn't go to a doctor to solve if we had to pay for it; however, if everything is free, why not go? The result is that doctors must spend more time on non-critical care, and the patients that really need immediate help must wait.
National health care means the costs will be spread to all Americans, regardless of your health or your need for medical care, which is fundamentally unfair. Your health is greatly determined by your lifestyle. Those who exercise, eat right, don't smoke, don't drink, etc. have far fewer health problems than the smoking couch potatoes. Some healthy people don't even feel the need for health insurance since they never go to the doctor. Why should we punish those that live a healthy lifestyle and reward the ones who don't?
5. It may be a matter of life or death. We have that
now and it's likely going to get worse with national health care. ER's will be so jam packed with patients who don't even need to be seen and will clog up the system for those who truly need care.
6. It will
not let will let doctors and nurses focus on patients instead of paperwork. Paperwork that I do taking care of patients is absolutely essential and it's not going away.
Government jobs currently have statute-mandated salaries and civil service tests required for getting hired. There isn't a lot of flexibility built in to reward the best performing workers. Imagine how this would limit the options of medical professionals. Doctors who attract scores of patients and do the best work would likely be paid the same as those that perform poorly and drive patients away. The private practice options and flexibility of specialties is one of things that attracts students to the profession. If you take that away, you may discourage would-be students from putting themselves through the torture of medical school and residency.
7. It will
not reduce health care disparities. If you think it's bad now, just wait until you need to see a doctor and you're enrolled in a national health care system.
8. It will
not eliminate medical debit. There's an entitlement mentality in this country that believes the government should give us a number of benefits such as "free" health care. But the government must pay for this somehow. What good would it do to wipe out a few hundred dollars of monthly health insurance premiums if our taxes go up by that much or more?
9. It will
not be good for labor and business. Government workers have fewer incentives to do well. They have a set hourly schedule, cost-of-living raises, and few promotion opportunities. Compare this to private sector workers who can receive large raises, earn promotions, and work overtime. Government workers have iron-clad job security; private sector workers must always worry about keeping their jobs, and private businesses must always worry about cutting costs enough to survive.
10. It's
not what most Americans want. It's what Americans who don't understand the entire picture who want National Health Care. Do not speak for all Americans. This American Does NOT want National Health Care. I think it would be a huge mistake.
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