Sunday, May 25, 2008
Health Care in France
Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN news examines the French Healthcare system in a short video (about 4 min.). In France, health insurance used to be tied to a job - like the U.S. system - until 2000. Since then, everyone has mandatory health insurance. 92% of the people also have supplemental health insurance. Insurance is not free, but the costs are mangeable, according to interviewees. The combination of insurance policies pays most medical costs. The out of pocket expense for any medical procedure is minimal. This is a very nice feature of ALL the universal healthcare plans in the countries that have them. (See the Frontline post and please watch the video.) No one wil be bankrupted by a severe illness or a medical condition, such as a pregnancy, with complications.
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The Farmer and Universal Health Care
Imagine you’re a farmer out in the country. You know what type of crops to plant and when to plant them. You take pride every year when you see your goods being sold to market and fell good about providing nutrition for both youth and adults. You know very well that some of your crop will spoil before they make it to the shelves. However, there is nothing you can do to prevent this, once it leaves your farm, someone else has the responsibility of delivering or storing your crop.
Now imagine that about half of the population in the big cities has a great idea to stop crops from spoiling. They protest that the government should be the ones to grow and ship the crops. These idea holders have little knowledge of farming, but have heard that in some countries, government run farms appear to be just as efficient as ours. This is the basis of their argument. The government should run all farms and see that the shipment is delivered in a timely fashion, to ensure there are no spoiled products.
As a farmer you know that spoiled crops are inevitable, unless you grow them right next to the store. But there are many who hold you responsible, for what is really the nature of produce. Although it’s clear to you and all other farmers, that it's just the reality of farming, but to try and change the opinions of those in the far away cities would be impossible.
Those who cling to this new idea are happy to consume your crops. However, they haven't a clue as to what it takes to make them grow and to ship. They just want fresh produce and don't care to educate themselves about what farming is about.
The following year’s political season is filled with promises of government collectivization of farms. “Fresh produce” for all they say. This appeals to many, and the polls indicate that most people are in favor.
With dust in their eyes, they cannot recognize the benefits of the current system. They can pick and choose which ever store they wish to shop at and always have a variety of produce to choose from. They can complain to the store management if the tomatoes are never fresh. Management, in turn, will probably call a new produce vendor to keep his customers happy.
Shortly after the elections, an agricultural collectivization act is past. All farms are now government run. The harvest is expensive, but the government does its best and it turns out to be a great season. The Gov. then ships the harvest to the cities and the inevitable occurs. There are some spoiled goods. Now the city folk find themselves in a tight spot. Who can they complain to, and who would listen? Now they are stuck.
I know the idea of Free Health care for all seems great, but it is a trap. You will be stuck with what ever the government says. What if you really needed a surgery and the Gov. deems it unnecessary or what if a preventable mistake occurs during a procedure? Maybe you feel your doctor is incompetent but he’s going to be your surgeon, who do you turn too?
The reality is that your grievances will be ignored, you may be denied a life saving treatment or possibly a therapy that would improve your life. Today we have choices upon choices, and doctors are fully aware that you may drop them at any time. They save lives and alleviate pain, but at the end of the day, they still need to feed their families. So long they compete for our $, Dr.’s will always be at the mercy of the consumer. If you place your health in the hands of the government, you will no longer have control of your health, it will belong to the Feds.
Less Gov. is Better Gov. So Long It’s a Fair Gov.
www.InsureMeDFW.com
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