Socialized Medicine Is Just the Start

Sacramento Late Monday evening, I felt a stabbing sensation in my gut, so I went to the emergency room when it became apparent the pain wasn’t going away. I had to wait to see a doctor of course, but then was examined, scanned, and diagnosed. By 5:30 a.m., surgeons were removing my inflamed appendix laparoscopically. By late afternoon I was home watching Mafia flicks and enjoying the benefits of an oxycodone prescription. By Wednesday, I was back at work. Say what you want about our nation’s screwed-up healthcare system, but that isn’t bad. Sure, I have health insurance, but so do 93 percent of Californians. The 7 percent who aren’t covered should receive the same emergency treatment as anyone else, given that hospitals can’t deny emergency service based on an inability to pay. After scanning the waiting room at the downtown Sacramento ER that night, I’d say it’s a safe bet most of the people there had no insurance and weren’t about to pay by credit card. America’s healthcare system is no model of free enterprise, of course. It’s heavily controlled by government regulations. Myriad state and federal subsidies distort the prices. Because third parties (insurers and government) foot most of the bill, no one shops around for the best deal even on elective procedures. The cost of Tuesday’s surgery will probably remain a mystery to me. Blue Cross bean-counters will determine what I owe and I’ll pay it after being inundated with incomprehensible forms and bills. End of story. This inefficient mixed-market system could use various competitive reforms, but it works decently for most people most of the time. Nevertheless, it is the prime target for leftists with grandiose dreams of something better. They promote various incremental plans such as “Medicare for all,” but we know what they really want: A government-controlled single-payer system of “free” healthcare with taxpayers footing the entire bill. In a word, they want medical socialism. They’re not swayed by data about ...