According to Thomas Sowell, in a recent Baltimore Sun opinion piece, the "biggest of the big lies in the health care hype is that a lack of insurance means a lack of medical care." Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a Stanford think tank. He then mentions how he paid for his own broken arm and jaw when he didn't have insurance when he was young.Sowell also writes that "few people show the slightest interest in what has happened in countries with government-controlled medical care." He cites waiting lists in such countries while people in America are just "picking up a phone and making an appointment."
Sowell is right. You can just pick up a phone and make a doctor's appointment here in the U.S.
Paying for it, well, that's not quite as easy.
1. It all comes down to ability to pay. Lack of insurance is only part of the problem. The larger issue is lack of access to health care. If you don't have money, frequently there are no alternatives, especially for timely and quality care. It's great that Sowell could get his arm fixed, but he got it fixed because he had the money. There are millions wnho don't. In countries with socialized medicine such as England and Italy, you are not necessarily stuck with the legendary waits that the propagandists harp about. Guess what, if you want to pay out of pocket, there are doctors who will take your money and treat you--just like here. There might be plenty of people who complain about the waiting, but ask them if they would rather trade systems and see what answer you get. There, getting medical care may be a matter of "when." Here, for too many, it is a matter of "if." Again, kudos to Sowell for having the dough to get his arm fixed. His good fortune is by no means unique--nor are the experiences of the many who can't get medical care.
Regards,
Richard Day Gore
Posted at 7:38AM on Sep 11th 2007 by richard day gore