Single Payer health Care

[Ramulux]

to people who have cancer or serious illnesses that require top of the line care, they would need to be passed over to take in the hundreds and thousands of new, free patients

No they wouldn't. There is nothing in the public health care option which would force terminally ill patients to be passed over. I don't know where you heard this but its not true.

ALSO, think about it from a doctors point of view. doctors work their asses off in school to make themselves a successful life, hoping to all earn over $100,000 a year, now imagine barack obama showing up and saying you HAVE to treat EVERYONE for FREE... where is the motivation to ever become a doctor???

Dude you do not understand anything about single payer systems. Doctors are not going to have to start working for free, they are simply going to be paid by the government.

the bottom line is america is about freedom and this healthcare reform bill is about confiscating freedom.

How? The health care reform bill is about providing medical care to those who cannot afford it. How in any way does this have anything to do with confiscating freedom?

and Ramulux, you should have someone explain the free enterprise system
to you. ...Competition incentivizes innovation while a lack of competition leads
to stagnation. Imagine a world where Cheerios was the only cereal there
was.

Health Care for America NOW - New Report: Private Insurance Mergers Lead to Near-Monopolies Across the Country
News Flash, there isn't any real competition among Americas health insurance companies as it exists right now. They have had 80 years to develop an affordable, decent plan that could be used by those in poverty but they haven't. These companies have abused the power they have over the American people because they know we do not have a choice. A public option will create the first real spark of competition within the health care industry. When these private companies begin losing customers and realize that they can no longer get away with charging outlandish fees they will be forced onto a level playing field for the first time since their creation.

I also never meant to imply that I have something against competition. I am well aware that competition is one of the driving forces of mankind and our continued advancement as a society. But health care is not something that you can just leave up to the free market to figure out. It has been that way for a long time and it has not worked. The ability to go to the doctor is not the same as buying a box of cereal. They effect our lives in totally different ways and I think it is obvious that one is more important than the other. So while competition seems to work fairly well for the cereal industry, the health care industry has shown over and over again that they have figured out a way around the concepts put forth by Adam Smith.

are there any of our Canadian brothers and sisters out there with some personal
stories about how great the Canadian healthcare system is?

...how about from the UK, would some of you fellow stoners mind sharing
some of your experiences?

When I say that the single payer systems in countries like Canada, the Netherlands, and Taiwan work very well, I am not speaking subjectively. I am not trying to get you to believe something that may not be true. These countries health care systems work well and that is just the way it is. Now if you want first hand accounts and studies, here you go.
What is healthcare like in the Netherlands? : denialism blog
Does Universal Health Insurance Make Health Care Unaffordable? Lessons From Taiwan -- Lu and Hsiao 22 (3): 77 -- Health Affairs
Single-Payer FAQ | Physicians for a National Health Program
Tome of the Unknown Writer: Health Care Stories: London, Ontario, Canada
Tome of the Unknown Writer: Health Care Stories: St. John, New Brunswick, Canada
Tome of the Unknown Writer: Health Care Stories: London, UK
Tome of the Unknown Writer: Health Care Stories: Randers, Denmark
Tome of the Unknown Writer: Health Care Stories: Madrid, Spain

If you want more I am happy to provide them for you. I also want to make it clear that I am aware the health care systems in these countries are not perfect and that they do not provide the most exceptional care money can buy. They provide a basic public option to anyone who needs it and it ends up costing them less than we spend in this country.