Clearly, we have a problem. I came to Utah from England, and yes the British do have free health care. I'll try to explain why.
The argument for a national health-care system has nothing to do with managed costs, entrepreneurialism, capitalism or freedom to choose. I have always argued that it is a basic human right, but I was wrong also.
England has a long tradition of standing up for civil liberties and what is just the "right thing to do." For example, the peace sign that is familiar to all of us was inspired in England, the only country that stood up against nuclear proliferation in the '60s and the one that declared war on Nazi Germany in defense of my homeland, Poland.
The English people made a decision as a society that no one has the right to make money, not a red cent, on the back of another person's ill health. That's it. Simple, but it is fundamental to the entire argument for a national health system.
We would find it unconscionable to sell a baby. We find it immoral to sell human body organs. Yet in America we find it perfectly natural to make a profit on a person, a child, a mother who is in desperate need of medical treatment. Worse than that, as a society we endorse turning her away because she does not have a medical insurance card in her purse.
Furthermore, we are perfectly happy to allow church hospitals to take the burden of these unfortunate few while the top for-profit hospitals feel free to turn them away, knowing full well that the Christian churches will not refuse these poor creatures.
This does not mean that doctors and nurses should not get paid handsomely for the very hard work they do, but when is enough too much?
"Yeah, but there are long lines in England" is the retort I always hear. That is the vast health and drug industry lobbyist hard at work.
I lived in England and my brother is an orthopedic specialist, and here are the truths:
In England, you get seen by the same doctors on the national health service as you would in the private sector. Health care is available to every citizen free of charge. The lines are no worse than you would experience here.
The system is managed based on the severity of each situation, except in cases of catastrophic need, in which case you are seen to immediately.
For example, a good Scottish friend of mine, age 83, who had been in both world wars, needed knee surgery. He was told that it would take several months for him to be scheduled. His response: "Oh, let it be. I'm no spring chicken any more, let some other young chap, playing soccer or doing gymnastics, have a go first while they're young and need it now."
Generous yes, practical absolutely, and in a democracy quite the right thing to do. Are we all that greedy, that spoiled that we'll push the other person out of the way?
Furthermore, the English have a choice of using either the national health system, private health care or both. Yes, if you want to have your own private medical care, you can choose to pay extra, and many do, and it's still a whole lot cheaper than here. And why would that be? The private health services have to compete with the national health service, which is, of course, free.
What makes me angry in this debate are the sound-bite remarks people respond with. For example, "I don't believe in big government" or "We believe in free competition." But, unless there is a national health system, Americans will not have the freedom to choose their employment.
Remember the cable guy who was forced to leave a job helping others because he had to get medical coverage? Not only are we becoming increasingly uncompetitive locally, we are clearly disadvantaged against Europe, where people are less stressed and, by all accounts, have equal or better health overall.
America is a fine country and one of the most religious countries in the world. Arguably, it follows that one of the most important covenants of the nation must be "love they neighbor as thyself." If that's the case, how can it be that America's Christians can talk the talk but not walk the walk on such a critical human need?
Surely it is ethically and morally incomprehensible to any Christian to condone making a profit on another human being's medical need and suffering. Perhaps this should be the rallying cry of the nation in the run up to what will be arguably the most important election in decades.
Perhaps all of America can collectively unite for perhaps one of the most important civil rights each and every one of us deserves.
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* STAS MINTOWT-CZYZ is vice president of sales for MindQuest Inc., a software company in Sandy.
