Via Brad Plumer at Mojo Blog, a great post by Drum on why we need nationalized healthcare. And here and here are two of many comments on his thread that reinforce the point that it’s not only the poor who would benefit from it.
I can’t reiterate enough that the apocryphal stories about nationalized healthcare in Canada and Europe should not deter us. I’ve been in NHS facilities in Britain, and the quality of the care and service are as good as they are here. That said, my Londoner has had occasion in the past year to experience some of the limitations of the NHS, which we have discussed at length, and one of the major problems seems to be a shortage of facilities. This is, in no small part, due to the logistical problems of people to land mass ratio on a small island with green belt building restrictions. We must recognize that America has no shortage of land, and no shortage of medical facilities as it is, which positions us completely differently than some of the countries who have gone this way before us.
That’s not the NHS’ only problem, and I don’t mean to suggest that it is. But before succumbing to the warnings about nationalized healthcare with which we have been brainwashed since birth, I encourage you to consider that the American situation is, before the process even begins, fundamentally different than many of the countries from which such tales come.
As a side note, Mr. Shakes, who has had good health insurance coverage since coming to the States, has noted he would exchange in a New York minute the NHS for the constant worry about keeping coverage and the wrangling with insurance companies to make sure claims are paid.
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