New Cat's Eye writes:
I just don't want the government in charge of my healthcare. But I'll pay taxes to support a national health care system. I don't want to be forced into something, tho. And I don't like the sound of single-anything. Options, not force.
Roads are publically funded, so do you feel like the government is telling you where to drive?
If we go with the systems found in Europe it will be your doctor who decides what your care is. It is true that agencies like the NHS in the UK do put out standards of care, but even in the US there are standards of care put out by medical associations that doctors are expected to follow. On top of that, the standards of care are put through rigorous scientific studies and are decided on by doctors, not government agents who have no knowledge of medicine.
You will see a doctor, not a government agent. If you don't want medical treatment, then you can deny it. In the UK and other countries you can pay more to get into shorter lines, and you can always pay more for procedures or drugs that are not the standard of care. The idea is to have a basic level of health care that is funded by tax dollars and administered by doctors.
What we have right now in the US is a health care system that is focused on profit instead of health care. When you have a product that people can literally not live without then free markets are not the way to go because demand will always outstrip supply. This is why we regulate utility prices because if we didn't then they could jack up your electricity bills as high as they wanted during the winter.
Free markets don't work for health care. There is no country I am aware of where free markets have produced an affordable health care market. The systems that do work have a regulated marketplace to control prices, funding based on income level, and low user fees at the point of care. If you aren't interested in affordable health care and are more concerned about paying twice as much for the same health care, then the US system is the way to go.