[Preechr]

I'm gonna try to limit myself to the topic here. I REALLY want to address that whole Socialism IS Democracy thing-a-ma-bob, though...

*breathes in deeply*

*counts to ten*

Ok... Trying to keep this thing to actually arguable topics, I guess I shouldn't talk about things that may or may not happen in the future, as that is subjective. Let's nail down what we can as Fact by looking only at the present and the past...

Before, I said that it was a Fact that as government has gotten more and more involved in Healthcare, Heathcare has suffered. Somebody said that was my opinion about the future or something, but I meant that as an observation of where we are right now as compared to how things were before our American Socialist Revolution began.

These are always subjective comparisons, because we live in a totally different world now than America was in the 50s and 60s. I'll treat it as fairly as I can, though...

My statement is partially wrong on it's face. It's not just government interference that has screwed the Healthcare system up. It's also the things that the government HASN'T done that's making things worse. DC is so excited about getting their hands in the pie that they are ignoring the stuff they're actually required to do like making sure doctors can treat patients without getting their asses sued off.

Somebody mentioned the rediculous costs of Medical Malpractice Insurance. Did you guys know that doctors are the only private segment of workers in America that are not allowed to speak with a group voice? This is ostensibly because we don't want to experience the Healthcare strikes that plauge other countries (incidentally, doctors are striking primarily in countries with Socialized Healthcare...) The problem is, that's a trust contract, and the government has continually broken their end of the deal.

Anybody can sue anyone for anything, and most cases settle regardless of merit due to the exhorbitant costs of defending against even the most unsubstantiated claim. This is the primary factor behind what we see as price gouging for medical services. Basically the same thing happens to Pharmaceutical companies, driving up the prices of medication.

Here's an example: Any of you have pets? Chances are, at some point your Vet has given you some Benedryl for your pet to take, for whatever reason. Dogs and Cats can't sue, so the same damn Benedryl you would buy at the pharmacy for YOU is WAY cheaper when you buy it for your pet.

Hopefully, I'm not over-simplifying this. I can be more detailed if you wish... Basically the secondary point I'm making here is that it is the government's molly-coddling of lawyers and the law-trade that's helping to screw up Healthcare, NOT the system itself. The mandatory guarantee that no one can be turned away from a Hospital only encourages folks to go to the Emergency Room every time they get a freakin COLD, get treated for free, and sue the Hospital on a bogus charge of negligence... bah... This gets way too complicated way too fast....

Ok... Back to the future... Let's say you get your dream of Socialized Medicine to become a reality. The very first thing that is going to change will be your ability to sue for Malpractice. There's no way the government will even attempt to Manage Healthcare under the current rules that are savaging medical service and supplies providers. My question is: Why can't we just do this now?

I'll answer that! Government wants to control Healthcare. It is doing what it needs to do to make that happen.