Lately, I have been thinking about health insurance (probably because I have no job, and even though I’m on Hubby’s health care plan, it still makes me feel wary). I’ve been wondering why we don’t go to a government-run model: I’m convinced of it. But, I’m an easy sell on health care- access to everyone and flexibility? Give me some of that.
So I started to think: what about people who don’t have liberal values? What would it take for them to be convinced that it’s a good idea? I went and asked my conservative and libertarian friends and relatives, and this is what they said (the ones that answered; lazy people):
From :
You’d have to prove to me that there was a way to prevent people from milking it similar to welfare, that it’d be effective compared to the money put in, and that it wouldn’t make a significant difference in my taxes or funding for other programs I value.
The milking part being the key one, ie how do you stop people from going in for every little stupid thing and crowding emergency rooms like they do now.
I approve of it in theory, just haven’t seen an implementation of it that I think would work in the US
From Red Sox
what i care about is quality care in a timely manner, like say if i tore a shoulder ligament and needed surgery, which i did by the way, i don’t want to wait 6 months or longer to have it because that’s how long the wait is, because the doctor or the hospital isn’t paid directly, but through a series of taxes which may or may not be astronomical
Ayn
I require an option for support of such a system. An opt-out option. Then I would totally support a “socialized” health care system. That being said, it would no longer fit the definition of socialized, would it?
Evidence of economic superiority and/or greater efficiency could certainly entice people to be in said program, but so long as people are not allowed to choose NOT to be a part of the system, it is inherently unjust.
The fact that a socialized system encourages moral hazard, thus making it economically inferior and less efficient is a great reason not to support such systems; but I still would not support a mandatory system even if it did somehow defy the existence of scarcity. … Read More
Short answer: There is no evidence that could change my mind.
Bastiat
No evidence would cause me to believe that my property should be forcefully confiscated from me. This applies to all taxes and policies.
MiL
I just wanted to let you know that I do not want the government to run health care. I do not think they do a good job. What is the first thing they cut this legislation season. Health care. Look at nursing homes which are very regulated. They are working very hard with less staff and paying their employees less. They are not getting the best workers out there because they can not pay them well. Not saying that those employees are bad. They are a blessing, caring for our nursing home people. I would like to see the wonderful programs we have available in the state of MN expanded to help anyone who needs it. Expand MN care so people can pay on a sliding scale. If we have national health insurance we all will have to buy private insurance any way just like medicare. MN is one of the best states at taking care of it’s people. But they still cut health care. At least now we have competition to keep the hospitals and clinics trying to work at their best. If
you go to any county, state or federal office to get help my experience has been they are inefficient and not enough workers to get the job done. Check out the DMV to see what I mean. I hope this helps you to see what I think. It is not that I do not want everyone to have access. They already do. If they come to any hospital they have to be treated. There are many programs out there to help. They just need to look. It is not perfect but it is a good start. Expand what good things we have. There is no way I will ever agree that having the government run health care is a good idea. It will ruin what we have.
Now, I’m not saying that my friends are perfect examples of conservative and libertarian philosophies, or this even constitutes a representative sample (most of my friends didn’t reply at all, which is a shame). But, I think you’d see the same objections and themes in most conservative and libertarian positions.
First and foremost, there seems to be an underlying hostility to the government, and specifically the federal government. This is in sum, the libertarian’s objection to government-run health care, and really the only place that I’m even going to be able to muster an argument for them. This is a little bit difficult to address with evidence; because part of it’s true. A government run by idiots is going to produce inefficient care to it’s citizens. But, I think it’s more fundamental than that; no matter how many times I point out how well the government can work, and how many times I point to examples of the private industry decidedly NOT working, this is what they are going to believe. Yet, it points out that the government, and specifically the federal government, is really going to have to work it’s ass off to get the faith and good will of the people back. I don’t know if it’s necessarily fair: I know the government can work just fine, and I know private industry doesn’t always work, but that’s what it is. But, in the next few posts, I will probably take maybe half of one to address libertarians arguments- their belief in the free market to fix everything is akin to a Christian’s belief in god: no evidence one way or another is going to sway their mind.
The second main concern seems to be that people think that they are going to get worse care: they’re going to have to wait longer (6 months?!? Where do people GET these numbers?), and they are not going to have the same level of care. There also seems to be some misconception about how many are getting care, and the availability of care. I’m thinking a comparative analysis of other countries whom have universal health care might be helpful, and the wait times associated. But, apparently some decent analysis of American health care is apparently in order to; MiL is a nurse at a local hospital, and she seems to believe that everyone gets care. That’s not true from everything that I know- I have many friends who can’t get surgeries because they don’t have health care (and because of their conditions, the odds of them getting health care are slim) and so need cash-in-hand before a hospital will even touch them. But then again, I don’t think she works on the finance end of things, so she might not be aware.
The last main concern seems to be with money and “deserving” people. People don’t want to have to pay a lot in taxes for their health care, and they don’t want people who don’t deserve it getting it, or “milking” the system. As for the money, I’m pretty sure our taxes will go up, and that’s just the long and short of it. But, I think I can dig up some information about the comparative cost of health care versus the rise in taxes, and the dollar-per-health that most government run stuff has. The “people who don’t deserve it” part might be a little tricky: how am I supposed to gauge who deserves it? How am I supposed to know if the person going in for the sniffles is a hypochondriac who’s looking to get some attention or a forward-thinking person who’s looking to see if that’s the flu boiling or something more serious to nip in the bud? But, maybe I’ll have something brilliant by the time I get to those posts.
So, stay tuned for the summer blogging project!
PS: It would be appreciated if anyone had any great arguments or links to relevant evidence (or books) to leave those in the thread.