What’s Wrong with Government-Run Healthcare? | 5 Minute Video
If you get sick or suffer a serious injury, you not only want medical care, you want quality medical care. What’s the best way to get it? Through a government-run program like Medicare for All or through our current free market system? Stanford policy expert Lanhee Chen has the answer in this video from Prager University. Get informed. After all, this is your health we’re talking about.
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Script:
It’s very easy for a politician to stand up before voters and say, “Health care is a right,” and then passionately advocate for “single-payer” or “free health care” or “Medicare for All”—whatever term they might use.
But before we consider the merits of the government managing your health care—and that’s what this all boils down to—maybe we should ask a more basic question:
What do we mean by “health care”?
Because if you get sick—and here, we’re talking major illness—or you’re in serious pain, you don’t just want health care; you want quality health care.
And where is your best chance of finding that?
The answer is right here in America.
For skilled doctors, cutting-edge medical treatments, and care without long delays, no other country rivals the United States. Not even close. Nobody from Texas is going to Canada for medical treatment. It’s almost always the other way around.
Sure, our health care system has lots of issues—and we should address them—but do we really want to upend all the advantages that we do have and start from scratch? Because that’s what would have to happen if we completely turn health care over to the government.
So, let’s imagine we make the change. We hear a lot about how great free health care would be, but it’s only fair we look at the downside.
The first is that government-run health care takes medical decisions away from patients—that means you—and puts them in the hands of bureaucrats. They decide, for example, how many MRI machines are going to be available, or under what conditions you can get back surgery or a bypass, or even whether you qualify for cancer treatment.
That’s how it works in the United Kingdom under its single-payer system. Because it has finite resources, the National Health Service, or NHS, sharply restricts access to treatments like hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, and even prescription drugs to deal with common conditions like arthritis and diabetes. If you suffer from any of these ailments and many others in the UK, you may just have to live with the pain.
And let’s hope you don’t have a medical emergency.
In a January 2018 article in the New York Times, patients in emergency rooms around London are described as having “to wait 12 hours before they are tended to. Corridors are jammed with beds carrying [the] frail and elderly.” To deal with the situation, “hospitals [were] ordered to postpone non-urgent surgeries until the end of the month.” That hardly seems like an improvement over what we have in the US.
For the complete script, visit https://www.prageru.com/videos/whats-wrong-government-run-healthcare
source
1:14 man Im so glad the government never tells us what to do with our bodies because of privatized healthcare… oh wait.
Also, most 1st world countries have free healthcare, and its not bad like they always portray it to be. We have all these well functioning healthcare systems in other countries, but because it means rich people cant hoard as much wealth, they lobby against it.
America has the worst Healthcare system in the western world and the most expensive
I feel like the existence of Australia just automatically debunks a lot of this channel
nobody from texas is going to Canada for health treatment Yes they do!!!! Also to Mexico!!!!
This really points out the major flaw with socialism. Overly idealistic proponents paint grand and rosy pictures of socialist universal policies creating complete social equality.
But the harsh reality is these visions are of a society that only LOOKS equal.
Ontario is conservative🤣
The US spends the most on healthcare
Sponsored by Big Pharma
I've heard many stories from doctors having to literally fight insurance companies to let their patient get an MRI or CAT scan or else insurance wouldn't pay for it.
Most of the hospital bill goes into the pockets of the higher ups, only 10% is spent on treatment like equipment, beds and staff salary.
Insurance companies will run healthcare if not the government
Insurance companies don't care about outcome they only care about income. I am getting better health care her in Colombia than in the US for less money. Why do Americans go to Mexico for treatment.?
As an american, I would just like to say that even if a universal healthcare system has problems, the benifits of nationalizing healthcare would probably outweigh the problems. For example, the majority of americans put off geting urgent healthcare because its too expensive, so even if wait times increase under a single-payer system, that seems like a worthy tradeoff if it means that more people could acess healthcare.
All of this is true
the uk use to have the best healthcare system (NHS) which is socialised, that was until conservatives (people like you) underfunded it so no, socialised government healthcare is good
It's funny how people have an easier time buying bread, milk, cell phones, or flatscreen TV's on a routine basis but purchasing health care is so complicated. Almost as if it's a commodity like anything else that requires labor and money to produce it. Almost as if the free market is a beautiful thing and it shouldn't be ruined. Who would've thought the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing?
Yeah no, we definitely need social healthcare in the US
This is pure, fascist propaganda. You have to be terminally stupid to believe this tripe.
Doesnt the US spend more om healthcare per capita then any other developed nation?
Brought to you by the big hospitals that don’t wanna lose the Ching ching
y
You should not be allowed to tell such blatant lies and get away with it.
Yet so many other developed countries manage to provide affordable and quality healthcare. Do conservatives ever leave America? By making healthcare accessible to all, people would prioritize preventative healthcare which would actually decrease healthcare costs. With universal healthcare, people would only have to pay for the salaries of the healthcare workers rather than having to pay for the large profits of private corporations. I’d much rather have a democratically elected government control my healthcare than some private corporations whose sole concern is personal profit control my healthcare
Healthcare is socialism. Socialism is communism. Communism is atheism. Atheism is evil.
Therefore, healthcare is evil.
– Dennis Prager
Insurance also restricts coverage for many issues. A lot of people have insurance and still pay out of pocket. Insurance wouldn’t be so expensive if hospitals didn’t price gouge because they knew insurance companies would pay out
Respectfully, I have to disagree on this matter. I'm German, and we essentially pioneered national government-run healthcare in the 1880s with Bismarck, allowing us ample time for adjustments. German research has consistently remained strong. Through effort, tenacity, and careful bureaucracy, we've managed to maintain remarkably reasonable costs for everyone (with states having more power to prevent abusive medical pricing). The insurance covers all life-saving aspects without the risk of bankruptcy, and any additional expenses can usually be covered with a few hundred bucks, or they are covered for free as usual. If you truly desire more services included, you can opt for private insurance, which, based on the experiences of those I know who have it, could easily be termed "luxury."
I'm not arguing that every state can successfully run a healthcare system, so objections may indeed have merit. However, I do contend that any nation believing in its greatness and willing to invest the effort, sweat, and muscle into this kind of uphill battle should expect more for themselves.
So does the US have the best healthcare? Not even close. So why not use the countries with the best healthcare as examples? They all have universal healthcare btw.
Medicare for all
In Denmark I call doctor, doctor is all like "yo" I am like "I think I have a problem" He be like "ok, come later this afternoon" im like "ok"………I go home later and he be like "free of charge" I am like "as it should be everywhere"
America got the best health treatments however you gotta pay a lot of money for it and this is how world works!!
Nobody in the world has the amazing quality of healthcare as we do! Can you afford it? No. Do you have insurance? No. But if you did and if you were rich, think of how healthy you would be! Why would you want that hypothetical to change?
It is morally wrong to deny people healthcare (a life or death situation) because they cant afford it. I live in Britain and what is said in this video about the NHS is just WRONG!
My UK friends have only complained to me about long waits- 1 who was on a waitlist for many months for therapy for her child with autism and eventually decided to pay privately so her child could go ahead and get treated because early intervention is key, and another who was waiting in the ER for her ill child to be seen for so many hours that when it was getting into the middle of the night and her child was exhausted but feeling better decided to go home but was threatened that they would be reported to the government for child abuse for not having their child seen. Both were frustrated with the NHS
This video does not seem to accurately represent the pros and cons (especially the cons). Cons for Privatization – Health care costs per capita is highest in the United States – roughly double every other developed country. The video outright denies this, which is not factual. Also if you lose your job, are a senior citizen, etc. you can still get coverage rather than getting pushed out from private insurers. In that sense it is more humane. Privatization does have many pros: the USA has very good wait times, good service, and the ability to attract the brightest minds because they get paid more than other countries (i..e brain drain from europe and canada). Universal healthcare has its benefits and drawbacks.
Right, let's let a for profit insurance company make those decisions for us. They have our best interests in mind don't they? They surely would not put profit above our health care. Right? Right?
In Europe at least in my country Portugal there’s the problem of the waiting list to get free healthcare. However, people with higher income tend to have private medical insurance, to go to private hospitals. The thing is that private hospitals usually don’t overcharge you like in the US, so it is usually cheaper, despite the low cost of living in Portugal.
I bet you anything the guy in the video can afford healthcare
In the UK, everyone is covered by the NHS. No one will go broke or die because of their health. If it doesn’t take your fancy, you can get treatment from a private hospital. I (and most of the world and a seemingly growing number of Americans) don’t see an issue with this.
The irony of this video: profits drive innovation. But hey, can you give us a donation? I thought profit drives innovation. Go do something useful
Idiotic
It's funny seeing the US talk about how bad free heathcare is, while I'm living here in the UK with the NHS questioning what's the issue. It's genuinely the reason why I would never moved to the US, knowing at any moment I could injure myself and get into thousands of debt because of an accident out of my control.
The problem is, heavily regulated private Healthcare is very expensive and low quality.
We have to deregulate the Healthcare industry before we can legitimately judge free market Healthcare.
As long as insurance isn't expensive, private Healthcare is easily affordable.
I live in Sweden, with goverment run healthcare and I have type-1 diabetes. Boy am I happy it's government run and that my insulin is free for me and that the size of my wallet doesen't descide if I have the right to live or not. Id rather be poorer from high taxes and still have my insulin than a bit richer and immideatly die from lack of insulin.
I don't understand. This guy talks about socialized healthcare as if it would be the only option americans would have. I live in Brazil and we have socialized healthcare, sure it's not perfect, but it helps a lotta people. We also have private hospitals, so, if can afford it, you can go to a private hospital and you also can have a medical insurance, in case you don't want to depend on the government assistance. Socialized healthcare is meant especially for poor people who can't afford insurance. Are those poor people were just supposed to die just because they can't pay for their treatments?
This is all complete garbage.
1:15 that's the point, dumbasses! It's not the patients that have a degree in medicine, it's not patients who should decide.
24k likes out of 7m views, LOL!
you're PragerU, you have no opinion