The problem with socialized medicine

Understanding its definition is the key to making a decision on where you stand. The question is not whether you want to help the needy receive healthcare, but rather do you want to give that control to the federal government and allow them to tax you more for another inefficient bureaucratic system.

The concept of providing healthcare for the needy is noble and moral. The concept of giving more control to the government in our lives is not. This country was founded on the idea of “as little government intervention in our lives” as possible.

Yes, “socialized institutions have gotten a bad rap,” and for good reason. They are un-American. Local police and fire, for the purpose of catching criminals and fighting fire, is a different thing from federally controlled national healthcare. Some people get the idea that if the government is providing a service, it is free and that the high cost of medical care will go away. This is not the case.

I am friends with a former Army flight surgeon who was a private practice family doctor for 50 years. I asked him his thoughts on socialized medicine and he was dead against it. He said there was a push for this in the 1930s, but luckily people were wise and it did not get very far.

He also shared a story about a lady he knows in Holland who is in her 60s and needs a hip replacement. She was told by the government that because of her age she is not eligible for that type of surgery. They deemed it was not cost-effective. I guess they were looking for a more long-term return on their investment. How’s that for government care?

Movies like “Sicko” with a political agenda are biased and unbalanced. To really learn about this issue, look up SCHIP and read about it yourself. You have to defeat legislation that will move this country toward socialism a thousand times, but unfortunately it only has to pass once.

Gerald Gerten