What is your opinion as to why a free market in health care could never work?

The Greedy Capitalists Would Kill Everyone Because They're Greedy

0 (0%)

The Corporations Would Take Advantage of the Poor

0 (0%)

Eventually there would be a monopoly in big pharma and you could only use their drugs.

1 (8.3%)

The Nations Children Shouldn't Be Left To The Cruel Depredations of the Marketplace

0 (0%)

I'm a conservative so don't care and just love the corporations

0 (0%)

YesWeCan! is an Asshat.

11 (91.7%)

Total Members Voted: 6

[dry_ice]

Forgot one option in the poll..........  Is "YesWeCan" an ASSHAT?


"Free market" health care no longer exists due to government intervention.  It started back in the thirties, when government put wage freezes on business, so in order to find competent workers, they were forced to add other benefits such as healthcare.

It's been a downward spiral because of Medicare, regulations, FDA, AFDC, etc.

The only thing you are proving here is that you are an ignorant product of government education, and the brainwashers have been really effective in your case.

BTW- Is that you with the "anointed one" in your avatar?

Hello DryIce.  I just want you to know that even though we might not see completely eye-to-eye on these issues, that I respect and appreciate your criticism.  As a token of goodwill, I have added your option as a choice in my poll.  I personally believe that healthcare is a basic human right, and if the founders of this great nation had access to the knowledge and technology of modern medicine that they would have undoubtedly added an 11th amendment to the US Constitution:  FREE HEALTHCARE FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD!  Wheeeeeee!!  Gosh, Golly-Gee...It's soo important to help others.

And yes, that is indeed yours truly posing with the one and only OBAMESSIAH!   
YES WE CAN  *^___^*  YES WE CAN

I'm a believer and know that you can be too.
All you need is faith! 

Actually, the poll is non-sensical, that's why I humorously suggested the last option 
I think somewhat like you in that Medical care is a basic human right.  If indeed that is true why do we want the government involved even more. Please read this link:

http://www.harrybrowne.org/hb2000/print/health.htm

Is not food also a basic human right.  If so, why are you not clamoring for the government to run the food business?  It was tried in the Soviet Union before, how did that work out?

I will await your comments on the Harry Browne article.

[mikehz]

If health care is a right, then that means that other people MUST be compelled to supply it. That is, they must become enslaved. What happens if there ARE no other people around? Who supplies the "right" in the absence of other people?

[dry_ice]

If health care is a right, then that means that other people MUST be compelled to supply it. That is, they must become enslaved. What happens if there ARE no other people around? Who supplies the "right" in the absence of other people?

Is being allowed to smoke marijuana a right?  If so, who is being compelled to supply it?

[YixilTesiphon]

If health care is a right, then that means that other people MUST be compelled to supply it. That is, they must become enslaved. What happens if there ARE no other people around? Who supplies the "right" in the absence of other people?

Is being allowed to smoke marijuana a right?  If so, who is being compelled to supply it?

Being allowed to smoke marijuana is a right. Smoking marijuana isn't.

[dry_ice]

If health care is a right, then that means that other people MUST be compelled to supply it. That is, they must become enslaved. What happens if there ARE no other people around? Who supplies the "right" in the absence of other people?

Is being allowed to smoke marijuana a right?  If so, who is being compelled to supply it?

Being allowed to smoke marijuana is a right. Smoking marijuana isn't.

Exacery

[mikehz]

The right to smoke pot is a freedom of action. So is the right to seek medical care. But, no one is obliged to GIVE you pot, or health care. Otherwise, it would mean that you have a right to violate their right, which would entail a contradiction, since there can be no such thing as a right to violate a right.

"I have a right to medical care, which you must give me. But, you also have a right to medical care, which I must give you. Since we cancel one another out, we're even. Let's just call it quits."

[Porcupine_in_MA]

The right to smoke pot is a freedom of action. So is the right to seek medical care. But, no one is obliged to GIVE you pot,

Unless you're Josh.

[conrad from spain]

I live in Spain (as my nick suggests), and we have universal socialized health care and it's ok. Just ok.. Better than a US V.A. Hospital, worse than "normal" private hospital.

We also have totally private health care that is not too expensive. The existence of a cheap private health insurance surprised me when I came here because I thought there wouldn't be a demand being that everyone has to pay for the public health care "at the point of a gun" whether they use it or not. However public health care doctors are quite overworked. Most working professionals also pay for private health incurance to get more personalized attention, shorter waits, etc. Of course everyone still has to pay for the public health care even if we don't use it.

Taxes here are about 30% income tax for most professionals and a 16.5% sales tax (and many more taxes on every little thing along the way)...
:-O

I hear it's close to 30% sales tax in Sweden but I'm not sure.. I think it's around 19% in France.

My public health care doctor visits 30-50 patients a day 5 days a week. She only visits 7 hours a day (using one hour of paperwork, a break and other stuff) so each patient literally only gets 8-14minutes of attention from the doc on average and that's after a looooong waiting list. How well can you take care of a patient in only 8-14 minutes??

Yes all the poor get taken care of, and medicines are dirt cheap. However my private doctor is awesome, short lines, same day visits and my private insurance has several doctors that will come to your house when you have a cold and don't feel like getting out of bed when you have a cold. The insurance has agreements with several places that offer this service that hires young docs right out of college, gives them a SMART car (2 seater stupid looking tiny car) and they drive around with their Blackberry to all the visits. I had a sinus infection and was really dizzy and with a splitting headache and he even went down to the pharmacy and picked up the meds for me!

The private insurance costs me 40 €uros a month (about 58 bucks). The bad thing is if you want the cheap meds, you have to get the prescription from your public doctor. If your private doc gives your the prescription you have to pay a premium price.

I personally think a totally private system would work best, but you also have to have a totally free economic system to follow. It could be so much better for each person eliminating all taxes, and letting people use that extra money (and the logical increase in profits, and increased value of that money) in the Health care of their choice. Charities would also do so much better and would be able to take care of the poor much better, and there would also be less poor.  People are less likely to donate to charities if they think that the government is taking care of them.