Universal health care

In this debate I intend to produce compelling arguments against universal health care in general and against my opponent’s arguments. The United States spends $2.6 trillion on health care annually. This is roughly 17% of the country’s GDP. Due to programs like Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), and state and public health care programs, the government is responsible for approximately 50 cents out of every dollar spent on health care. Health care is one of the most highly regulated sectors of the American economy. (1) And as this source points out, more government control means less personal freedom. I personally believe that Americans are smart enough to handle their own finances and the citizens who are not financially secure are not taking advantage of the opportunities that a free-market system gives them. There should be no level playing field, in my opinion. Everyone is entitled to the pursuit of happiness, but no one should have it handed out to them by the government. In 2009, there were 50.6 million people in the country uninsured. That is up from 46.3 million in 2008. (2) This is a large number, and it does indeed continue to rise. Out of this number 9.9 million are not citizens or, they are illegal aliens. (2) Now if you believe that even illegal aliens should be provided with health coverage, than these numbers will not matter to you. It is my belief, however that if a person is in the country unlawfully they should not be allowed privileges that American citizens are allowed. With that being said, we are left with a number of 40.7 million uninsured in America. In 2009, the average price of health coverage was $4,824. (3) That breaks down to $402 per month. (4) In 2009, 9.3 million of the uninsured in America made $50,000 to $75,000 per year and 10.5 million made over $75,000 per year. (2) If health care was such a high priority to Americans, than why are people who have ample finances to afford it, not buying it? The face of Universal Health care… Wait times in ERs in the UK were so long that the government created a target mandating that patients be seen in less than four hours. (5) The government could not meet this target and tens of thousands of people who call for medical emergencies, are held outside of the hospitals in ambulances for five or more hours before being picked up and in some cases, before being let into the ER. (6) “People prefer not to be admitted for Christmas and doctors prefer to keep them out of hospital, Dr Robinson said. But to discharge so many more on Christmas Eve – 8 to 10 per cent more than on an average day – implies a change in discharge criteria.” (7) One reason doctors do not “care” as much under a socialized health care system, is because there is no competition to keep the doctors up to par. And when a patient is admitted and then discharged the same day, it doesn’t change the fact that it costs the taxpayers 1000 Euros per patient when admitted in the ERs within the target. (7) “Cleaners at Good Hope hospital with a poor record on superbugs have been told to turn over dirty sheets instead of using fresh ones between patients to save money” (8). I don’t have to point out the obvious problems with this. This is another example of how medical care will become very poor under universal health care. Other incidents include doctors asking patients to bring drugs from home (8), to people having to resort to home remedies, and super glue for teeth crowns because medical personnel cannot be found (9). An organization by the name of NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) has the job of literally telling you what your life is worth, in money, and if it is worth living or not. Newspapers in the UK are littered with stories of drugs and treatments that are to “pricey” to extend life. Yet NICE is actually envied by a large portion of the world. Top health officials from around the globe closely watch and mimic the procedures of NICE. (10). In Canada right now, a family is fighting to keep the hospital from removing a breathing tube from their son as a judge has ordered the family to allow the hospital to do so. Obviously, this is not something that would happen in America as long as the parents are legally sane. Liberals make fun of Sarah Palin, but you cannot deny that there are death panels, as evident by this story. (11) Another argument from supporters of universal health care is that health care is a right and should be guaranteed to all Americans. However, health care is never mentioned in the Bill of Rights. The only rights in the founding documents are rights to action. Americans have the right to pursue happiness. They don’t have the right to have somebody else pay for it or achieve a level of happiness at the expense of someone else’s happiness. Moreover, no citizen or non-citizen can, by law, be turned away from an emergency room. Millions of people who are uninsured, who liberals use to argue that we need universal health care, simply don’t want to pay for it. They would rather pay cash each time they visit the ER. Government ran, socialist style health care has been a complete failure everywhere it has been instituted. We need to be responsible for our own health care. This will bring costs down as the government will not have to spend quite as much per dollar spent on health care. (1)-www.heritage.org/Initiatives/Health-Care (2)-http://www.census.gov... (3)-Kaiser Family Foundation; Health Research & Educational Trust (4)-My calculator ;) (5)-http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (6)-http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (7)-http://www.timesonline.co.uk... (8)-http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (9)-http://www.dailymail.co.uk... (10)-http://blogs.wsj.com... (11)- http://www.foxnews.com...