Submitted by A Clear Thinking Conservative, Jul 9, 2007 15:57

I am simply amazed at the number of people who still buy the flawed argument peddled by the health care industry that universal health care (or if you must, "socialized" health care) would be bad for our country. We are the ONLY industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have universal health care, and our current "profit-based" system has been shown time and time again to be inferior to most of those other nations' health care systems.

Statistics continue to show that our nation has higher infant mortality rates; higher death rates due to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.; and lower rates of preventative health care treatment (which dramatically lowers overall health care costs) than nearly all other industrialized nations.

Why is it so wrong to endorse socialized medicine for every American? We already have highly successful and efficient socialized health care programs that take care of our veterans and our seniors (the VA and Medicare, respectively), and we have socialized education, a socialized retirement program (Social Security), a socialized highway system, not to mention socialized NATIONAL DEFENSE!!!

Sure you can point to some problems found in the British and Canadian systems, but their problems are minor compared to the problems in our system - 47 million people without access to affordable health care; denial of a wide range of treatment by HMO and insurance administrators (who tell our doctors what kind of "cost-effective" treatments they can provide us); and the highest health care and prescription drug costs IN THE WORLD!!! I am a proud American who believes our nation CAN and WOULD develop the BEST socialized medicine program in the world if given the opportunity.

In addition, our current "profit-based" health care system is killing our nation's economy. Scores of U.S. companies are moving their operations (and taking our jobs) overseas due in large part to the constantly rising costs of providing health insurance to it's employees (us!). Profit-based health care makes U.S. companies less competitve in the world market. That is why none other than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports creating a government-run universal health care system.

The time has come for everybody to realize that a profit-based health care system that places our medical decisions in the hands of corporate accountants and business managers, INSTEAD of in the hands our doctors is a system that rips off the American public and doesn't provide the level of care that all Americans deserve. While I generally oppose large government programs, certain things ARE done better by government - national security, education, infrastructure and health care, just to name a few.

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