This WSJ editorial makes a point that I tried to make the other day when on Thom Hartman’s radio show: there are big tradeoffs in moving toward single-payer health insurance. It may succeed in giving some portion of the population better access to basic medical services, but there will also be big drawbacks, such as discouaging more medical research and development and restricting access to some procedures. This WSJ piece details some of the restrictions in the UK and concludes:
Mr. Obama and Democrats claim they can expand subsidies for tens of millions of Americans, while saving money and improving the quality of care. It can’t possibly be done. The inevitable result of their plan will be some version of a NICE board that will tell millions of Americans that they are too young, or too old, or too sick to be worth paying to care for.