Gilbert Lawrence wrote: An example of what I mean: The use of government dollars to make us a more healthy society delivering better quality health-care. This in the long-run will reduce cost of health-care. If govt follows some recommendations, it would reduce the cost of health-care even in the short-run.
Mario observes: When every government program is run inefficiently due to the lack of any normal incentives to be efficient, there is little reason to believe that the government will suddenly become efficient in providing universal health care. However, in Massachussets they have implemented a state-mandated and partially funded plan that covers every citizen that is slanted towards preventive health care but is still built around private insurance and the private health care system. I hope this is what you mean when you write, "If govt follows some recommendations,..." As a physician you must know about the rationing of health care in every single payer system in the world, especially for serious illnesses. Many Canadians who supposedly have "free" health care that they pay for through their taxes, buy private insurance for treatment in the US for serious procedures for which they are often put on waiting lists in Canada. See, http://canadaonline.about.com/od/healthcarewaittimes/Wait_Times_for_Health_Care_in_Canada.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/may/06/health.politics If such a system in implemented in the US and leads to rationing of serious procedures, which is unheard of in the US, where will Americans and Canadians go when their lives may depend on a waiting list?
