What Should Be Done

Healthcare Reform

So many people have asked me about healthcare reform, that I thought it would be a good idea to devote this latest newsletter entirely to the subject.

In America medical costs are perceived as being high, and for some reason it is thought that Canadians and Europeans live in some kind of Utopia where healthcare is "free" and of incredibly high quality. Also, for their own political gains some politicians in America have exaggerated the number of people under 65 years of age who don't have health insurance.

Approximately 170 million Americans under 65 have health insurance and the majority of them are satisfied with it.

Nobody actually knows how many uninsured people there are in America, one thing we do know is, the figure isn't 47 million.

That figure includes about:
9 million people who have not claimed that they are already on Government plans like Medicaid
4 million who are eligible for Medicaid but don't want it;
7 million aliens who will not be getting coverage unless they pay for it.

This leaves about 27 million; some of whom can afford insurance but won't buy it, for example; temporary workers, some people working in small companies, and many self employed. This probably leaves about 21 million genuinely uninsured.

Why is it so important to insure them right now? Because some politicians who want Socialized Medicine think that now is their best opportunity to rush it through Congress, also it distracts the public from the soaring unemployment rate.

What is Socialized Medicine?
A system where the doctors and hospitals are employed by the Government, and healthcare is controlled by bureaucrats.

Is Socialized Medicine The Way To Go?
The Republicans want a system like Germany and Holland where everybody buys heavily regulated health insurance.
The Democrats want something similar to the British system where Government health care is paid for with taxes.

In the next few pages we will take a look at the realities of health care in countries including Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Sweden and Russia. You Be The Judge!

Canadian and European Healthcare Systems