I recently posted a blog on why government rationing of health care is utterly unnecessary, not to mention immoral. I’ve also written about how the current House version of health reform, supported by the President and the AMA, will inevitably herd us into a government-run health care system that is more restrictive than even the British single-payer National Health Service.
Now comes Zane F. Pollard, MD, a doctor of many decades practice who has personally experienced the heavy hand of U.S. government rationing on a first-person basis. I checked out Dr. Pollard on HealthGrades and he’s the real deal. In his posting, he relates example after example of government intrusion into medical care that is both an indictment of it and a testament to the determination of American doctors to do the right thing despite it. And if you’re one of those people who tends to be suspicious of anecdotal accounts, check out the doctor comments accompanying his telling story. The clear message is that we simply cannot rely on current government programs, much less proposed ones, to get us out of the health care mess we’re in.
Now, more than ever, we must focus on workable market-based approaches to health care reform that will reduce costs, improve quality, and extend affordable health insurance to everyone. We can do that.