Quote Originally Posted by cptcannabis
The problem with government provided healthcare is that it forever changes the relationship between the state and citizen. If you rely on the government for life and death matters, such as healthcare, you become beholden to your own government. And their way to decrease costs = rationing & blocking access to care. Since it's run by the government, there's no accountability. In Britain, they have a formula to decide whether you get healthcare. The procedure is divided by the years that you benefit, and if you don't meet that threshhold, you don't get the procedure. This will mean that many people with very serious health conditions will not get care. The seniors in America have picked up on this, and many of them are showing their great displeasure at the town hall meetings.
The first thing you have to understand is that the current health care reform bill will not turn us into Great Britain. The bill seems to create a system more in line with the Netherlands where they still have a thriving private health care industry. If a public option is created, that does not mean that people are going to have to give up their current insurance and go on the public plan. If you are happy with your current insurance plan, a public option is not going to effect you in any way. All this bill will do is create an alternative "option" available to anyone who cannot afford private insurance.

Your anger at the health care rationing in England is ridiculous, when you simply think about how many millions of people the NHS provides care for every year. On a health care budget much smaller than ours, England is able to provide "basic" treatment to all their citizens. It may not be the greatest coverage in the world, but it is better than nothing, which is what many people would have if there were no NHS. Another thing to realize is that private insurance companies ration health care in the exact same way England and Canada do. The public option will not be able to cover all procedures in the same way private insurance companies are unable to. No one is claiming that the public option will give you amazing, world class care. It will simply allow you to visit the doctor or dentist without losing hundreds of dollars.

You are also not understanding that this issue is kind of more important than your personal political ideology. I am well aware that the existence of a public option is a massive step to the left of the political spectrum and if it passes it will be a massive blow to the way the American people view conservatism. Regardless of the political ramifications a public option will revolutionize this country quite literally. I am sure everybody knows someone with health problems who is unable to receive the treatment they need, because they do not have insurance. If these millions of people are suddenly able to visit the doctor and obtain medication, can you even imagine would it would be like having millions of sick people suddenly become healthy and ready to start contributing to society.

In the end,it all comes down to how you view America. Conservatives see a country where everybody looks out for themselves and the federal government does not exist. Liberals, however, understand the lessons taught to them by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, which is that this country cannot survive unless we look out for one another. We are all Americans and regardless of your political or religious views, I want you to be able to go the doctor if you are sick. It is the year 2009 and people need to stop living in the dark ages. Socialized medicine works and if you don't think so go tell that to all the elderly people who are alive because of Medicare.