Obama says almost gleefully that Americans pay $6,000 more per year on health care than people of other advanced nations for no better care. “We are the only advanced democracy on earth… that allows such hardships for millions of its people… We spend one and a half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren’t healthier for it.”
Contrary to Obama’s statements, America has the best health-care system in the world. Senator Tom Coburn has aptly stated that if America had established a government run system like Britain or Canada’s ten years ago, there would be one million fewer American’s alive today. Because of our available technology and acute intervention, “our survival rates on cancer, malignancies and coronary artery disease” Are better than Britain’s or Canada’s*. Indeed- much as Obama seems anxious to find fault with America, and seems to regard every other nation with awe - he conveniently ignores that America leads the world in treating heart disease and cancer that America’s medical research industry produces more than half of the $175 billion of Health-care technology products purchased globally. In 2004, Sally Pipes notes, the US government spend $18.4 billion on medical research; the European Union, with a larger population, spent only $3.7 billion**. As some have observed , “Europeans are living off the US taxpayer in health care, as in so many things.” ***
Moreover, If America were to implement socialized care, the quality of our health-care would necessarily decrease. How do we know this? Because it’s been the case with every nation that has tried it. Economists uniformly tell us that price controls (which are part of Obamacare) always reduce quality. Anyone who doubts this should read the horror stories from British Hospitals. ****
* “Exclusive Coburn: Dem Health Plan Will Kill Americans,” Wasington Times July 16, 2009
** Sally Pipes, The top ten myths of american health care (San Francisco: Pacific Research Institute, 2008) p. 136
*** Bob Hall, Book Review of Sally Pipes’ ” the top ten myth of american health care,” The Old Jarhead blog, tartanmarine.blogspot.com, May 18, 2009
**** Susan Easton, “Health Care Horror Stories Just in Time for Halloween,” Human Events, October 19, 2009
America does not, repeat, does NOT have the greatest healthcare system in the world. We spend more on medical research, but that’s not government-funded, it’s privately funded. And how great is a system that leaves 47 million citizens without coverage? Not great at all. Our classist, privilege-based system is despicable. What good is advanced medicine if only the richest people have access to it?
And yes, people in Canada and Britain complain about their healthcare. But they aren’t moving here, are they? They wouldn’t trade their system for ours. Never. They’ll come here for elective surgery, sure. But basic care and prevention? They’re perfectly happy with what they’ve got. You are just straight-up ignorant if you think our system is even passable as decent healthcare.
The US has the best healthcare in the world. We have no statistics to back up that claim, no life-expectancy figures, no infant mortality rates, no information on waiting lists for major operations, no major surgery recovery rates… nothing at all really, but trust us. We’re number one. Look, we quoted, “our survival rates on cancer, malignancies and coronary artery disease” then added, “are better than Britain’s or Canada’s” without quotation, so it must be true. I mean, we could’ve given you the figures but we don’t like to boast. It’s sufficient to let you know that Senator Coburn said it, rather than say, The World Health Organisation. When Senator Coburn said it, he didn’t feel the need to bore Washington Times readers with statistics either, and we respect him for that. Stats are dull, grand unsubstantiated claims are sexy. That’s all you really need to know.
After all, we spend more than anyone else, and you get what you pay for, right? Like, if you buy a widescreen TV for $800, it can’t be as good as the TV that’s selling for $1500 in another store… even if it’s the same model, the same everything except the price… you pay more, it’s better. If you buy a six pack, you always go for the most expensive six pack. You can’t go to another store and get the same thing cheaper, that’s impossible.
Look at sports. The team that throws the most money around always wins, every time without exception. It really is that simple. Spending money wisely? Quality control? Finding a bargain? Pah. Throw money around like it’s a pissing contest, and you’ll always get the best results. Ask George Bush.
How’s that bankrupty-premature deathy thing working out for ya? In the words of General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, “if nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through…”
