Myth of Socialized Medicine (Prepared for Northeast Public Radio Commentary)

I’ve reached the end of my patience for a large subset of the population that has a beef – and I’ll return to that later – a beef about universal and single payer health systems.

The most common refrain opposing the idea is: “I have to pay for my health insurance. So should everybody else.” Well, I’m not sure how a three-year old pays for her own health insurance, especially when her parents are among the 13 million+ unemployed. Unfortunately, we instituted child labor laws in this country years ago. And then there’s the ugly fact that most insurance companies deny coverage to millions of Americans with pre-existing, or even suspected pre-existing, conditions – people who can afford coverage but are refused it. Health insurance companies only want to cover healthy people: you know, the ones who don’t need health care.

A variation of that theme against tax-supported health care is “Sure, everyone has a right to health insurance, but you want to stick me with the bill.” Well, that’s true, but you stick me with yours, and you haven’t heard me complain – until now. Let me explain.

I represent one of millions of people who work hard at taking care of themselves. This doesn’t guarantee I won’t get sick – and accidents happen – but it dramatically reduces the risk, and cost. I avoid alcohol, cigarettes, junk food, red meat, and the empty calories from white flour and sugar. I eat in moderation, and exercise regularly. I avoid, like the plague, artificial colorings, preservatives and the cocktail of chemicals and suspected carcinogens that now infuse our food products. The same goes for my family. So why, then, do my health insurance premiums remain so high? My premiums are high because they are used to pay for the present health care costs of countless others, all of whom are already insured, like you.

Let’s say you, the insured, pay $500 per month for health care. You’ve been smoking, or eating super-sized portions of fast food, for 20 years and have been diagnosed with cancer (last count: 11 million Americans) or heart disease (70 million Americans). The typical cost of cancer treatment runs from $30,000 to $300,000 per year. Estimated cost for treating heart disease in 2009: $475 billion. Do the math.

Seventy-five cents of every dollar of my premium goes to treat illnesses that are within people’s ability to control and even prevent. It is common knowledge that many of today’s leading – and expensive – health problems can be slowed, halted, and even reversed through dietary and lifestyle changes. These illnesses include obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and many forms of cancer. Smoking and excess consumption of alcohol and dietary fats are behind millions of chronic and acute illnesses in the United States each year. Most insureds now know enough to make substantial changes in their lifestyle habits but just choose not to.


What was that argument against universal care? “Sure, everyone has a right to health insurance, but you want to stick me with the bill.” Using that same reasoning, then, why should I allow you to use my premiums to cover the cost of your neglect? If healthy lifestyle practices didn’t make me feel so darn good, heck, I’d throw my caution to the wind, grab the antacids, and go on a self-destructive lifestyle binge too. After all, I’m covered!

But you and I both know that’s not the way it works. I’ve actually been ok with you using a portion of my salary to help treat your excessive lifestyle habits. During your darkest hours of financial need, you rely upon the kindness of strangers. And I would feel even better if the government used that money to include covering that uninsured three-year-old, the indigent, and the millions of others who are uninsured. Why? Quite simply, we are our brother’s keeper. And that includes the smokers gasping for breath.

(Pssst: would you like to know the only way to lessen the cost of health? Lessen the need for it: through healthy lifestyle practices and proven preventive medicine. Until then, socialized medicine is here to stay, in one form or another.)