why is universal health care a bad idea?

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Mursilis
On a related note, Robert Samualson's column in today's Washington Post is interesting:

A Costly Freebie

In all the years I've been reading his columns on economic issues, I've yet to figure out his personal political leanings. I'd say he's one of the better op-ed writers discussing economic issues today.

nice!

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Are you really a doctor, BBD? Ever try to save the life of a patient who didn't want to live? How'd that go? Or did you just write it off as a statistical anomoly?

former PhD candidate in Molecular Pharmacology, MD '03 University of North Carolina . . . I'm sure you've checked my profile but I guess the @med.unc.edu can be confusing. Working with suicidal patients is quite rewarding . . . so far I'm batting 1.000 . . . granted I haven't seen any of them for several months.

I work everyday in the field that I call "applied psychology." People make their own lives, they are their own worst enemies (and their greatest heroes), and there are no victims. Come back out of your research to the real world, which is shockingly like a fantasy.

So what do other people call your field? Indeed individual actions of adults are the greatest determinant of outcomes . . . but unlike you . . . I've met hundreds of people that have been victimized by parents, siblings, teachers, and strangers. It's all too real.

As for my research, 75% of all medications prescribed for children do not have clinical indications for children. In psychiatry its approximately 90% by agent, 85% by total prescriptions. One of the most common prescriptions for autism is an antipsychotic. The most dominant antipsychotic on the US market is Zyprexa (olanzapine). This drug costs $250-$350/month and produces an average semi-permanent weight gain of 1.5kg/month which has been associated (although controversy exists) with the development of Type II diabetes. My research is focused on clarifying that Zyprexa really works, finding ways to control side effects, and looking into other medications (unapproved for use in children). Better healthcare is effective healthcare. Effective healthcare is cheaper healthcare.

My position is federally-funded but medications for one study Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Prozac (fluoxetine) are provided by Lilly and my other study Abilify (aripiprazole) will be provided by Bristol-Myers-Squibb. Nothing like a good public/private endeavor.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: BaliBabyDoc
So what do other people call your field?

Sales. I'm a mortgage broker.
I'd never checked your profile before.
I don't doubt your statement about victims, and I have met them. In fact, I technically am a "victim," having several years ago been mugged, badly beaten by a baseball bat, and left for dead. To add insult to injury, the local sherriff's department refused to investigate or prosecute (I discovered later through a private investigator that among my attackers was a relative of a local police chief). I guess the difference is how you react to those types of situations and how you let them affect your life. I won't be one of those fools who says that it was the best thing to ever happen to them. It certainly wasn't. But there were no permanent injuries (thank God) and I went on with job of living.
C'est la vie. Get over it.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Vic
And transportation too - a nice brand new car every year. That should be a Right, goddamnit!

So, do you think unemployment benefits are also "socialism"? I mean why should my taxes give handouts to someone who's not working? They should have saved for rainy days.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: Vic
And transportation too - a nice brand new car every year. That should be a Right, goddamnit!

So, do you think unemployment benefits are also "socialism"? I mean why should my taxes give handouts to someone who's not working? They should have saved for rainy days.

Unemployment is a form of insurance that protects people from being unemployed through no fault of their own, which is a good thing. And because employers have to pay for unemployment insurance, and their rates go up if they have an increased number of claims, it encourages them to not let people go frivolously.
The most important difference though, and this is crucial, is that no one (and I mean no one) receives unemployment who didn't pay into the system in the first place. In order to get unemployment, one has to first be employed. With universal health care, on the other hand, one probably wouldn't even have to be a US citizen and actually having to have paid taxes would be contrary to the spirit of the whole system, would it not?