Points 7-14 Nationalized Healthcare

7. Government-mandated procedures will likely reduce doctor flexibility and lead to poor patient care. Politics always, always creeps into any govt-run program. It would no longer be about what is right for the people but what is right for the politicians. There will be rules that tie the hands of the "good" doctors and tell them when they can run a certain test or give a certain medicine. The age and past health history will come into play. And like a "Star Chamber" there will be govt-owned people deciding if some deserves treatment. In other countries, there is an age-cap for services. If you are 70 yrs and older, you can forget getting life-saving treatment because you have lost your viability to the country. Let's face it, the grandparents of the world will be invisible and useless. They will be put into homes to waste away and die before the govt-owned healthcare system would spend more money on them.

8. Healthy people who take care of themselves will have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese, etc.

9. A long, painful transition will have to take place involving lost insurance industry jobs, business closures, and new patient record creation.

10. Loss of private practice options and possible reduced pay may dissuade many would-be doctors from pursuing the profession.

11. Malpractice lawsuit costs, which are already sky-high, could further explode since universal care may expose the government to legal liability, and the possibility to sue someone with deep pockets usually invites more lawsuits. 12. Government is more likely to pass additional restrictions or increase taxes on smoking, fast food, etc., leading to a further loss of personal freedoms. Politicians will pass more "sin" taxes on things like alcohol, high-fat food, smoking, etc. They could ban trans fat, limit msg, eliminate high-fructose corn syrup. But pretty soon, people will no longer be able to choose to enjoy their favorite foods, even in moderation. One more excuse to gain more control of the people but in the guise of "for your own good"

13. Patient confidentiality is likely to be compromised since centralized health information will likely be maintained by the government. All past medical history can be used by faceless people to make critical decisions about what healthcare you deserve.

14. Like social security, any government benefit eventually is taken as a "right" by the public, meaning that it's politically near impossible to remove or curtail it later on when costs get out of control. Social Security was supposed to be put in place to help those older retired people through their last few years however the life span was considerable lower. Now people live well into their 90's. Hmmmm, wonder if it is the great health care? So now it is headed for bankruptcy and nobody can fix it. When Bush tried to re-structure it, the Democrats went all Freddy Krugar and did a scare campaign about Bush's intention to "take away your social security". As costs rise, there is no politician who can touch it without causing certain death to their career. It is smeared with deficiencies and inefficiency and an aging population.