July 21, 2007
Best of Crosstalk (First Aired July 19, 2007)
| Host: | Ingrid Schlueter |
| Guest: | Stuart Browning |
| Listen: | RealAudio | Windows Media | MP3 | Order Tape or CD |
Stuart Browning is a film producer, software entrepreneur, and health care policy commentator, who is currently producing a series of short Internet films on health care freedom.
Everyone is experiencing the effects of the exploding costs of health care, and insurance often adds to the problem with high costs, and limited coverage. Michael Moore's latest film, "Sicko" touts government-run, single-payer health insurance as the answer these problems, but examples of such systems as close as Canada show the limitations of the system--including limits on the availablity of care which are caused by the system--because of the lack of free market competition.
The films on health care freedom Stuart is now producing for the Internet are designed to counteract the government health care propaganda. He says the problem is allowing a third party to come between the patient and the doctor, keeping people from making their own health care decisions. The effect is to create a shortage of health care, resulting in long hours of waiting for medical treatment for what may be life-threatening conditions.
Horror stories abound of people in Canada and elsewhere who have died waiting for treatment under national health care systems, treatment which would be provided with urgency in the United States. There is no alternative available in Canada, even if the patient is willing to pay for faster service, so unless they travel to the United States to take advantage of the remaining private health care available here, the results can be death, or treatment that is delayed so long that the time has past for the best solutions.
Even without the proposed national health care system in the United States, the government has mandated what kinds of insurance may be offered, and at what cost, and because each state has its own regulatory agency, the choices are limited to what can be offered within that state. In addition, state mandates force all insurance to include coverage that many people do not need, such as drug and alcohol treatment, in vitro fertilization, marriage counseling, etc.
What is needed is a free market in health insurance, just as we have in many other areas, which will result in competition, lower costs, and better service. The worst scenario is to go the other direction, and move to complete government management of all health insurance and health care.
More Information
To learn more about Family Health Care, and to see Stuart Browning's videos:
