Back Talk

Canada, England, and France have tried these programs and found them full of problems with poor care, long waits for serious problems, and unavailability of doctors and nurses willing to stay with such a mess. Hundreds of Canadians come to the United States for medical treatment and surgery. More importantly, we don’t need another huge, incompetent, inefficient, wasteful bureaucratic government program. History tells us none has ever succeeded before and not likely to now. Now for the “on the other hand” side of the issue. Having been strongly opposed to government-run health care, the thing that makes me ponder the issue is the experience of a family member who had surgery and a 24 hour stay in the hospital. The hospital charges were $45,700 not including the surgeon and anesthesiologist fees. I apparently have not been paying attention over the past few years and have never been hospitalized because this figure stunned me. No amount of rationalization about expert care and conditions or friendly, attentive staff can convince me this is not a grand rip-off of the insurance company and Medicare. Legalized larceny. Incidentally, the surgeon’s fee was $5000 and the anesthesiologist’s $500.