Op-ed: If you like waiting hours for an ambulance, you might like single-payer
"Hello, 911? I think I'm having a heart attack."
"We'll send an ambulance to your address right away. It'll be there in four hours. Good luck."
That's the present reality for patients captive to the
In recent weeks,
Rationed care and lengthy delays aren't just inconvenient. They're deadly. One woman in
Other patients have died waiting in hospital corridors, according to a recent letter from
To make space for patients in immediate need, hospitals canceled all nonurgent operations — totaling about 50,000. These cancellations have forced people who need hip surgeries, knee replacements and other procedures to linger in pain for at least another month.
Nearly 10 percent of Brits say they've been personally affected by the
Worse, conditions aren't expected to improve anytime soon. One million additional patients will have to wait more than four hours for emergency department care by 2020, according to a recent report from the
The
In
Long waits are the norm in countries with single-payer. Since patients do not face copays or co-insurance at the point of care, they have no incentive to seek out competitively priced doctors, choose cheaper medicines or otherwise economize their consumption of care.
The government can only control costs by paying ultra-low reimbursements to health care providers and limiting access to cutting-edge treatments and technologies. The comparatively skimpy pay deters people from entering the medical field and discourages investors from building new hospitals and clinics. Hence, demand for care exceeds supply. Shortages are the result.
Even as single-payer fails patients abroad, progressive lawmakers are advocating for government-run health care here at home. Sixteen
State policymakers are just as gung-ho for single-payer. In
In
American progressives love to hype the "free" care that patients enjoy in the
It's no mystery why they're mum. Once Americans learn they'll have to wait hours for an ambulance and months for a routine surgery, "free" health care might not sound so appealing.
CREDIT: Thomas Smith, Deseret News Hive
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