From: minutemn@yabbs
To: laelth@yabbs
Subject: re: Socialized Medicine
Date: Sun Feb 13 21:26:58 1994
Well, while your proposal to just try the system of socialized medicine 
and if it doesn't work scrap it seems reasonable, there are quite a few 
arguments against it.
The biggest one, off the top of my head is by implementing such a system, 
we would be dismantling totally the private system of health care already 
in place.  Then we would have to wait at least a couple of years (probably 
around ten or so) to see how this system works.  Then, if (which I believe 
is almost a certainty) that system fails, the people will have to wait for 
the congress to get around to abolishing it.  (You can time the quickness 
of congressional action with a sundial, but you'd be standing outside an 
awful long time).  Once the system is legislated away, we would have to 
rebuild the private health-care industry from scratch (if you doubt that 
or the severity of this transition, look at other countries that are 
changing from a state controlled system to a free-market system, ie 
Eastern Europe).  Also, no government system ever truly dies, it usually 
finds some hole to hide in and suck taxpayers money.
   You have also mentioned how much more difficult it would be to sue 
doctors, etc under a socialized medicine system.  This is not true.  The 
US government (through whatever agencies involved) are quite frequently 
sued by one group or another, and frequently by individuals as well.  Find 
any legal text and count the occurrences, of John Doe vs. US.
It does happen, and whatever National Health agency is created would find 
itself no different.
    Also, the republicans do not claim that nothing is needed in the 
health care industry.  As a matter of fact several senators  have been 
touring the country promoting their alternative to the Clinton health 
system.  it is pretty good, and if you'd like, I'll E-mail it to you and 
anyone else who might be interested.  Among the senators sponsoring the 
proposal are Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and Paul Coverdell (R-Georgia).  They 
suggest smaller reforms than the President (whose reforms are by no 
stretch of the imagination modest).
    One last comment, if you are still interested, in implementing then 
deciding, wouldn't it be wiser to start with smaller suggestions (ie the 
Gramm, Coverdell, et. al. alternative) and if they don't work then the 
more drastic ()ie. the Clinton/Rockefeller proposals).
                                                respectfully,
                                                  Minuteman[C