One of the campaign themes this election cycle is “affordable” health care. Shouldn't we ask ourselves whether we want the politicians who brought us the “affordable” housing, that created the current financial debacle, to now deliver us affordable health care? Shouldn't we also ask how things turned out in countries where there is socialized medicine?Change you can believe in.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based Fraser Institute's annual publication, “Waiting Your Turn,” reports that Canada’s median waiting times from a patient's referral by a general practitioner to treatment by a specialist, depending on the procedure, averages from five to 40 weeks. The wait for diagnostics, such as MRI or CT, ranges between four and 28 weeks.
Britain's socialized system is no better. Currently, 750,000 Brits are awaiting hospital admission. Britain's National Health Services hopes to achieve an 18-week maximum wait from general practitioner to treatment, including all diagnostic tests, by the end of 2008.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Look for long health care delays if the U.S. gets a national system
Walter Williams reports:
