Thursday, August 23, 2007

16.67% of New Yorkers Have No Health Insurance

Okay, the article says it's 1 in 6. But how many of those are eligible to be enrolled in Medicaid, and have made a personal choice not to enroll.

When we hear that the WHO (not the rock band, but the World Health Organization) ranks the U.S. healthcare at 37th, do we even ask what it's based on?

Well, John Stossel of ABC News has something to say about these questions. Here is what he found.

The thing that is necessary to understand in this, what will work in one country, may not be what will work in another. Michael Moore and company want us to buy into the single payer system like Canada has, but doesn't ask the tough questions to find the drawbacks to such a system.

Here is a story that resonates all over the Canadian nation:



(Hat Tip to Mustang of Social Sense for this video)

I know that some would point to the French system, which scores high in many surveys. But I would have to ask: Would that system, could that system, work here?

I have my doubts.

The U.S, is a much larger country than France. The federal government is a much greater bureaucratic mess than most people can imagine. And as one who has worked for three different levels of government (federal, state, and county), I can safely say that you'll never find a a government entity that can run anything more efficiently, than the private sector can (except maybe public safety). I have seen the incompetence the laziness, and the inefficiency, firsthand.

Much of it comes from red tape and bureaucracy. And I have no reason to believe that healthcare run by the government, would fare any better than the other government programs, or the Canadian model.

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