Sunday, June 12, 2005

Mention single-payer health care, and the Star Tribune follows. Am I great or what? (don't answer that!) All of the pieces have one thing in common: a demand for European-style, taxpayer-funded, government-run health care. Note the lack of pieces expressing a dissenting view. Remember, these are the guys who complain about Fox News (who by the way, presents more liberal opinions than the Strib presents conservative ones).

Here at Million Monkeys, we want to present a supplemental service today that highlights some opinions and stories on this issue the Strib ignores: here, here, here, and last an NYT story about a ruling on a related subject from Canada's Supreme Court.

I am not advocating for or against the Stib's position really, because our current system doesn't seem to deliver good value for the money spent on it. (20% for administrative overhead? I believe it... ) Dealing with insurance companies can often be a nightmare, and there are an awful lot of people who don't have coverage, and others who if they become unemployed are extremely hard to insure. Single-payer, however, has its own problems with quality and availability of care. Both kinds of systems seem to be unable to control costs. The Strib doesn't mention it while shilling for single-payer, but European countries are facing money problems with their universal plans that they've had little success solving.

I don't have an answer. If I did, I'be enjoying a long, early retirement along the Riviera or sitting in a pub near my favorite Scotch distillery.

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