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OPINION

Monopolistic Healthcare continued from page 20

high-income earners to low-income earners. And as
a social metric, I never understood what one has to
do with the other. If I eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts
morning, noon, and night and increase my weight to
350 lbs., I can assure you that you will not become
thinner as a result. One has nothing to do with the
other. They are independent variables. The idea of
reducing the income gap between the rich and the
poor is one of the most misguided concepts in eco-
nomics I have heard. North Korea is a great example
of a utopian country where the income gap is nearly
equal; everyone is poor! My hope is to increase the
income gap. If we can get three billionaires to make
a trillion, that would be enough in taxes alone to cut
a trillion off of the annual deficit.
I suspect that most Americans would be quite vocal
against granting such colossal market power to one
private company (i.e., a monopoly). So why is it different when the What is the advantage of having free care if you can’t access it when
single source of power is the federal government? Whether we con- you need it? The costs of healthcare are one issue; however, quick
solidate power to a single private firm or a single government access to quality providers is more important, particularly if you de-
agency, it is still a consolidation of power, and thus zero competition sire early detection, treatment, and exceptional outcomes. And as I
is involved. Granted, having an iron-fisted monopoly can certainly stated in previous articles, one of the impacts of socialism is that it
command lower prices from the doctors, hospitals and pharmaceu- always creates scarcity, reduces competition, stifles innovation, and
tical companies; however, how many of the doctors, hospitals, and creates waiting lines! I certainly understand, that when people think
pharmaceutical companies will agree to see such patients? And their healthcare will be cheaper if it is government run, can be an
those providers that do agree; how long can they offer a plethora appealing proposition; however, the reality throughout the world tells
of services before they go broke with such a reduction of price a very different story in those single-payer systems.
controls and mandates? (And I use the word agree loosely given And when we compare countries that are embracing capitalism
that a mandate or a take it or leave it stance, is hardly the concept vs socialism, we can see that many of the European countries are
of agreeing; it is coercion). abandoning socialism for capitalism; whereas the USA is moving in
The inherent challenge with socialized healthcare, or any prod- the opposite direction. The Index of Economic Freedom measures
uct for that matter, is that it creates major disruptions in the pri- the degree of economic freedom in a country on a scale from 0 to
vate sector, reduces innovation, reduces access, creates waiting 100, based on four complex sets of indicators: Rule of Law, Limited
lines and seldom if ever accomplishes the stated objective. The Government, Regulatory Efficiency and Open Markets. The USA
evidence is all around us. Venezuela is an excellent example of so- now ranks No. 18 and moving away from economic freedom; a
cialism gone amuck. The one choice of a loaf of bread may be troublesome trend!
cheap, but just not available; not a problem though, just get in line I hear the repeated talking points all the time when people claim
tomorrow a tad earlier! that the USA no longer has the highest quality of healthcare com-
The pro Medicare for all crowd also claims that Europe has a sin- pared to other nations. When pressed, they cite the Infant Mortality
gle payer and they claim it is great. Let’s take a look at cancer survival Rate of which the USA ranks about 55th compared to other nations
rates in the USA vs. England. The USA usually ranks first in the sur- . Prior to the passage of the PPACA, the USA ranked about 20th.
vival rate of cancer. Prostate cancer as an example has a 91 percent The PPACA was supposed to improve this metric! The PPACA did
chance of the five-year survival rate in the USA compared to Eng- not improve this metric. However, that is not a fair proxy for the
land which is about 55 percent. Part of the difference is due to the measurement of quality of healthcare for many reasons. The biggest
inherent waiting lines that socialistic healthcare inevitability creates. being that a large increase of IMR is based on Sudden Infant Death

22 San Antonio Medicine • March 2019