Comments on: This From the Washington Post? Wow! http://www.baracknobama.net/2009/06/29/this-from-the-washington-post-wow/ An Independent Voice in the Age of Obama Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:25:21 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 hourly 1 By: POW in CA http://www.baracknobama.net/2009/06/29/this-from-the-washington-post-wow/comment-page-1/#comment-630 POW in CA Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:14:31 +0000 http://www.baracknobama.net/?p=715#comment-630 Exactly. Politicians always talk about "expenditures" on health care, as if we are paying more for the same quality. It also assumes the same population size and the same preference for health care. We have many new diagnostic tests, medical procedures, and drugs which are <b>miraculous</b> by the standards of 25 years ago. The most common fallacious argument used by the socialized medicine crowd is to do comparisons of life expectancy. Life expectancy is a function of how we live our lives (diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol, etc) and genetic factors. These are completely unrelated to our medical care system. Survival rates are the best measure of health care delivery and quality. The USA has the highest cancer survival rate in the world. Statistics for other diseases and injuries are difficult (if not impossible) to find, but I'll wager that our drugs and procedures extend the lives of millions of Americans who would have otherwise died 25 years ago or today in some other country. We have an aging population, and that population is demanding more health care. This drives up the prices for all of us. People are also becoming more health-conscious with the internet and other resources of information. People actually go to the doctor for symptoms they used to ignore (and die of) 25 years ago. Our new diagnostic equipment enables us to find problems earlier and more often. I was diagnosed with and treated for cancer at the age of 40 - that's ten years sooner than socialized medicine nations would even begin routine tests. For cancer, ten years is an <b>eternity</b> when it comes to treatment. Health care is provided with scarce resources. As such, those resources must be <b>rationed</b>. We can ration them by price, as with a market system, and have efficient allocation of resources with checks and balances through competition. Or we can go the socialist route and ration health care by waiting in line, not offering certain types of care, not having certain drugs or equipment, ignoring and covering up the problem, using phony holistic/traditional methods like mineral baths, or putting your life in the hands of government bureaucrats who really don't care if you live or die. Exactly. Politicians always talk about “expenditures” on health care, as if we are paying more for the same quality. It also assumes the same population size and the same preference for health care.

We have many new diagnostic tests, medical procedures, and drugs which are miraculous by the standards of 25 years ago.

The most common fallacious argument used by the socialized medicine crowd is to do comparisons of life expectancy. Life expectancy is a function of how we live our lives (diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol, etc) and genetic factors. These are completely unrelated to our medical care system.

Survival rates are the best measure of health care delivery and quality. The USA has the highest cancer survival rate in the world. Statistics for other diseases and injuries are difficult (if not impossible) to find, but I’ll wager that our drugs and procedures extend the lives of millions of Americans who would have otherwise died 25 years ago or today in some other country.

We have an aging population, and that population is demanding more health care. This drives up the prices for all of us. People are also becoming more health-conscious with the internet and other resources of information. People actually go to the doctor for symptoms they used to ignore (and die of) 25 years ago.

Our new diagnostic equipment enables us to find problems earlier and more often. I was diagnosed with and treated for cancer at the age of 40 – that’s ten years sooner than socialized medicine nations would even begin routine tests. For cancer, ten years is an eternity when it comes to treatment.

Health care is provided with scarce resources. As such, those resources must be rationed. We can ration them by price, as with a market system, and have efficient allocation of resources with checks and balances through competition. Or we can go the socialist route and ration health care by waiting in line, not offering certain types of care, not having certain drugs or equipment, ignoring and covering up the problem, using phony holistic/traditional methods like mineral baths, or putting your life in the hands of government bureaucrats who really don’t care if you live or die.

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