North Korea came under criticism from Amnesty International last week for the dismal state of the country’s health care system. While North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) has a well-earned reputation for disregarding the interests of its people – malnutrition is common and many of the country’s people face serious health problems arising from disease and poverty – the government has faced increasing economic difficulties that have undermined the state run (virtually everything in North Korea is state run) health care system to an appalling degree. …
When Linda O’Boyle was diagnosed with bowel cancer, her doctors told her she could boost her chances of survival by adding the drug cetuximab to her regimen. But the rationing body for Britain’s National Health Service, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), had previously ruled that the drug was not cost-effective and therefore would not be paid for by the government. So O’Boyle liquidated her savings and paid for the drug herself. But this is not allowed under NHS rules. When government bureaucrats found out that O’Boyle …
This Pajamas TV video is on the longer side, but it’s a must-see for those following the health care debate. Watch as Steven Crowder goes undercover deep inside the Canadian socialized health care bureaucracy. He comes out relatively unscathed, though completely untreated for what he went in for. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1ysw[/youtube]
Less than 24 hours after Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner questioned the veracity of President Obama’s persistent claim that, under his health care proposals, “if you like your insurance package you can keep it”, the White House has begun to walk the President’s claim back. Turns out he didn’t really mean it. According to the Associated Press, “White House officials suggest the president’s rhetoric shouldn’t be taken literally: What Obama really means is that government isn’t about to barge in and force people to change insurance.” How’s that for change …
President Obama vows to “address the crushing cost of health care” by, among other things, “invest[ing] in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives.” Sounds great. Let’s take a quick trip across the Atlantic to see how that’s worked out for the British. In two words, not well. In 2002, Tony Blair ordered Britain’s National Health Service to participate in the National Programme for IT, and thus launched an ambitious attempt to computerize the entire Service. The initial projected …
Dr. Steven West, president of the Florida Medical Association, notes that the economic stimulus bill contains a down payment on President Barack Obama’s plans for socialized medicine: As Congress rushes its economic stimulus plan to the desk of President Obama, its grand vision of health reform has been secretly buried inside: rationing patient care and dispensing cookbook medicine. That vision involves using large government bureaucracy and computer technology to tell patients what kind of care they can receive from their doctors. The congressional rationing plan will make doctors supplicants to …
The Senateneeds to take its time with Obama’s Trillion Dollar Debt Plan. There are jut too many permanent government expansions tucked away inside this bill, especially on the health care front, including these four: Surprise #1—Congress as a predatory lender. Surprise #2—Former C.E.O.s and out of work politicians could Qualify for Medicaid Surprise #3—New Eligibles will Have to Wait. Surprise #4—Gain Medicaid, lose your doctor. Follow us across the jump for detailed explanations of each surprise…
Last Friday we warned you about some family planning provisions tucked away in the House stimulus bill. Some conservative lawmakers then took up the issue on the Sunday shows, and the provisions quickly became a symbol of how completely unrelated to “economic stimulus” the House bill really is. Being the savvy political operator he is, President Barack Obama has now instructed House Democrats to remove that one provision. But, like much of Obama’s presidency so far, this was a completely symbolic move. The family planning provisions are just one small …
Blogging for the AFL-CIO, Mike Hall extols the benefits of socialized medicine, including: (1) lower heath care costs, and (2) higher health care costs. Here’s how he puts it: The incoming Obama administration is developing a comprehensive plan to address a broad range of health care concerns. The AFL-CIO has not endorsed a specific plan but has established certain principles that any plan should be built around. Reform must secure high-quality health care for all; lower the costs that are now crushing working families and businesses and share responsibility among …
As we’ve documented before, one of the major selling points liberals deploy when arguing for socialized medicine is how much government run health care will save Americans in administrative costs. And it is true: Medicare does not spend nearly as much on oversight as private insurance does managing claims. But that lack of oversight comes with its own steep price tag: fraud. Congressional Quarterly reports: Nearly half of the 491 South Florida medical equipment companies kicked out of Medicare in 2007 on suspicion that they were fraudulent were let back …
