Trying to remove information from the Internet is like trying to remove pee from a swimming pool.

There is a lot of sentiment in this country against free national health care.  Pundits like to point out how long people wait in lines in socialized countries like Canada and England.  They like to pretend that there's nothing wrong with the system we have now that kills 18,000 people a year simply because they don't have enough money to afford the exorbitant prices of hospital care.  The insurance racket has drove these prices up so high that no normal citizen can even hope to afford them.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov  , the average hospital stay is 5 days with an average cost of $17,300.  The most expensive hospital stay is infant respiratory distress, which can cost up to $90,000.  Can anyone honestly say that these prices reflect a free market based on supply and demand?  Isn't it more honest to admit they are more likely an indicator of racketeering?  That's why if you want medical care in this country, you need insurance.

Since insurance companies have deep pockets, this leads to over-billing on the part of the hospitals.  Most of us have heard of doctors that charge your insurance company for a whole box of syringes whenever he uses one.  It's not entirely the doctor's fault either.  Doctors often face malpractice litigation that, while sometimes legitimate, is often cooked up by greedy patients, who likely are in debt due to medical bills.  It's a vicious circle of people making bad decisions that keeps medical care out of reach of 15% of the American population.

The results only confirm the grim reality: the United States is among the lowest-ranked nations in the developed world in a variety of health categories that include life expectancy and infant mortality rates.   To anyone who isn't sticking their head in the sand, the system simply, doesn't, work.

There is something strange in the attitude of most Americans I see.  They don't seem to think that everyone having access to necessary health care is something we need.  It's as if they want to be thrown out of the hospital to die at home because the surgery they need was deemed "experimental" by their insurance company who refused to pay for it.  Cable News pundits like to talk about the evils of "some government bureaucrat deciding what medicine you can take and what doctor you can see."  Why the hell don't they complain when it's the same situation, except the bureaucrat is replaced with an insurance adjuster with a rubber signature stamp?  Why would they rather have their health care decisions made by a company who puts profits above patients instead of a government run by officials who are elected by the people?

Imagine if the government decided to get rid of public education, the interstate system, or the post office and left it to private industry?  There would be a revolt.  Yet, for some reason, no one seems to think that everyone having access to necessary medical care (e.g. staying alive) is as important as being able to send a package for $3.95.