From: laelth@yabbs
To: robtelee@yabbs
Subject: re: Socialized Medicine
Date: Thu Feb 10 12:19:33 1994
To the honourable Mr. Robtelee:
    No doubt health care in Britain has its problems as well.  I'd argue 
that the Tory government of the past sixteen years must shoulder a great 
deal of the blame for why the British system is not working so well. The 
Tories cut taxes (as did we) in the early eighties.  This threw them far 
into debt (as it did us).  The government was then forced to start 
rationing health care services as a result, an unfortunate but unavoidable 
consequence of the mounting public debt.  We here in America have much the 
same problem, and many believe that health-service rationing is coming 
here, soon, regardless of what ends up being national health-care policy.
    Nevertheless, there are far more countries where socialized health 
care works very well (Canada, Australia).  A recent study shows that 
97% of all Canadians reported receiving needed health care within 24 
hours.  Another study asked Canadians if they'd prefer a health-care 
system like the one in the US, and 95% of Canadians said no, they'd prefer 
NOT to have a system like ours.  So while Britain is the popular example 
that pro-status-quo people most often use to defend the current 
health-care nightmare in the US, an objective look at socialized medicine 
across the globe turns up far more examples of successful socialized 
systems.  But even the worst socialized system, Great Britain's, is better 
than no system at all for those who do not have health care coverage. No 
doubt you and Mrs. Robtelee have health insurance, and thus, for you the 
US system works.  For those who don't even the worst bureaucratic 
nightmare will seem like an improvement.

    Your obed'nt servant, etc.,

    -laelth