SB840: The Real Cost of “Free” Health Care
On April 2, 2006 I posted a little something about SB840, speculating that SB840 would lead to a dramatic decrease in the quality of health care, a decline in investment in Medical Technology, and a decline in the number of Doctors. Previously I had mentioned the horrible delays in receiving treatment.
This week, a report was released by The National Center for Policy Analysis regarding the ramifications of SB840, the Single-Payer-Health Care Bill. Interestingly, the NCPA and the Pacific Research Institute had the following conclusions:
According to the author John R. Graham, the 4 percent savings in current health spending that would result from a government-run health care system is a trifling sum when one considers the consequences of such a program:* The number of physicians would drop by 23,000, from about 94,000 to 71,000.
* Californians would suffer lengthy waiting times for medical treatment — time worth about $1 billion annually.
* About $9 billion dollars of “free” health care would be wasted by people who did not need it.
* Access to medical technology would be significantly diminished.
I’m not surprised in the least. The only thing that seems to be missing is the fact that Taxes would soar.
SB840 has noble and decent goals, but is unrealistic and dangerous; much like communism. Yet, supporters of socialized medicine seem to think that, even though it has failed elsewhere, it will work this time. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. SB840 would be disastrous for California, and I, for one, hope it does not pass the Legislature.
Cross Posted at The Gentle Cricket
July 4th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
What about drug companies and they revenue they would receive from the sale of brand-name drugs?