More Health Care Myths

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, George Newman attacks many of the myths that the leftists are using to socialize our health care system. Here are a couple of his arguments:

- "The American people overwhelmingly favor reform."

If you ask whether people would be happier if somebody else paid their medical bills, they generally say yes. But surveys on consumers' satisfaction with their quality of care show overwhelming support of the continuation of the present arrangement. The best proof of this is the belated recognition by the proponents of health care reform that they need to promise people that they can keep what they have now.

- "The cost of health care rises two to three times as fast as inflation."

That's like comparing the price of a McDonald's hamburger 30 years ago with the price of a filet mignon today and calling the difference inflation. Or the price of a 19-inch, black-and-white TV 30 years ago with the price of a 50-inch HDTV today. The improvements in medical care are even more dramatic, leading to longer life, less pain, fewer exploratory surgeries and miracle drugs. Of course the research, the equipment and the training that produce these improvements don't come cheap.

The current administration and Congress want to "fix" these problems. In all likelihood, that is going to mean that you won't have a system with the quality of care that we have today, and in all likelihood we will not see innovation in life-saving technologies and medications in the future like we have in the past.

Is this really what Americans want? I suspect not.