From an actual person I know, not a chain email:
The US already has two functional examples of single-payer health care provided by the government. As a US Army veteran, I have nearly 30 years of experience with the one most recognize – the VA. Yes, the same system that made news a few years ago because several hospitals in the Washington, DC, area were in such bad repair that they had patients in wards with rain leaking through the ceilings. The same system that habitually denies care for hundreds of people all needing the same type of care if it’s based on Agent Orange exposure. The same system that left me sitting in a lobby for over 6 hours with a piece of glass in my foot before they even asked me why I was there!
But, there is another (less well known) example. It has been around since the mid 19th century. Congress has to approve the funding for it every year – and for as long as anyone who uses it can remember, it always runs out of money in June of every year. It is the Indian Health Service (IHS). The IHS mostly only treats emergencies, and sometimes mis-diagnoses them. One young girl on the eastern Cherokee Reservation was taken to the IHS hospital by her parents with chronic stomach pain and loss of appetite – and was diagnosed with an upset stomach and depression. Six months later she was dead of cancer.
When you hear President Obama say that a national health care system will save money, read between the lines. It will save money because Congress will decide in advance how much to spend, and when the money is gone, people will be denied care for no other reason than that there are no supplies to treat them with.
Ask your elected officials this question – “If the national health care system is such a good idea, then why is Congress and the White House exempted from participating in it?”
Anecdotal? Yes, but consistent with the influx of Canadians (who want REAL health care) and the statistical disatisfaction of people living in more Socialist countries. Like I always say … look at the great job the government did with public education. </sarcasm>