Both Carrie and Charlotte have mentioned John Stossel’s fabulous 20/20 special on health care that ran last Friday (catch a re-run if you can!). Today, in his syndicated column, Stossel follows up on his debate with Michael Moore in the special. Stossel looks at the Canadian and British systems (which Moore applauds) and shows that they aren’t what they are cracked up to be. Here’s what Stossel had to said about the British system:
“One basic problem with nationalized health care is that it makes medical services seem free. That pushes demand beyond supply. Governments deal with that by limiting what’s available.
“That’s why the British National Health Service recently made the pathetic promise to reduce wait times for hospital care to four months.
“The wait to see dentists is so long that some Brits pull their own teeth. Dental tools: pliers and vodka.
“One hospital tried to save money by not changing bed sheets every day. British papers report that instead of washing them, nurses were encouraged to just turn them over.”
Check out the rest of his column here.