US Healthcare Debate

There is strong opposition in the US to Barack Obama’s plan to provide free universal healthcare. Many fear that this is socialism by stealth, and that it will mean that medical care will be decided by an accountant and not a doctor. Firstly, the latter point is already true of private healthcare. Secondly, all this talk of socialism by stealth is nonsense. There are already many services run by the government, like schools, the police, and the mail service. They have national health services in Europe and the government doesn’t dictate where doctors live, in the same way that the US government doesn’t dictate where the mail man lives etc. In Europe medical care is seen as one of these government services: the government provides it for free, but if you have a problem with them you can always go private. The government should provide free medical care, so as to benefit the poor and to provide a safety net ensuring that financial ruin would no longer come with the risk of death.