Universal Healthcare is an idea that sounds good if you don’t mind turning your life over the government. It is a great idea if you have no problem with the government forcing you to pay the medical expenses of strangers, because universal healthcare is not about healthcare, it is about paying for healthcare. Warren Meyer at Coyote Blog understands the threat.
The Health Care Trojan Horse: On several occasions, I have warned that government funded health care is becoming a Trojan horse for increasing government micro-management of your life. The logic is that by paying for your health care, the government can argue it has a financial interest in your not eating fatty foods, not smoking, wearing a bike helmet, exercising, etc, decisions that would otherwise only affect the individual themself. For those who often accuse me of exaggerated paranoia when it comes to government intervention, check out this from the UK:Self-inflicted illness as a reason to save money by denial of treatment! Universal healthcare is entirely about the use of taxation to obtain money to pay healthcare providers, and therefore, this version of the golden rule applies: He who has the gold makes the rules. If Americans concede financial responsibility for their medical expenses to government monopoly bureaucrats, then don’t be surprised when those bureaucrats start saying no money for you because you were warned not to behave counter to government decreed lifestyle guidelines.
NHS May Not Treat Smokers, Drinkers or Obese: People who are grossly overweight, who smoke heavily or drink excessively could be denied surgery or drugs following a decision by a Government agency yesterday. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) which advises on the clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments for the NHS, said that in some cases the "self-inflicted" nature of an illness should be taken into account.
