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NO WAY do I want socialized medicine. NO WAY! The US has far more people than Canada or England and to try and put the government in charge of health care would be a joke. Sure somethings need to change but I don't want a socialist approach.

I'm not in favor of the classic "socialized medicine" approaches like those implemented in Canada and the UK. I've heard too many horror stories from friends and associates over the years, in fact, they often visit during trips to the US for medical needs for themselves or family members! I know that they are anecdotal, but if you look at the basic underpinnings of any such system, you would have to be blind to not see how they are doomed for failure.

I also don't think that we can continue on with the status quo, this system has been broken and continuing to crumble over the past several decades. So I do think that we need to make some fundamental changes, and it is definitely not a case of "don't fix what's not broken."

Lately, I've been studying the work of OK Senator Tom Coburn, you can get a basic understanding of his very comprehensive and holistic approach at:

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=HealthCareReform.Home

There is also a very good interview with Dr. Coburn at:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/hl1030.cfm

Worth reading if you have some time, and are interested in (what appears to me to be) a sensible, realistic approach that will yield more benefits for the greater good, and paves the way for a sustainable approach to the future.

Ajax: excellent article- this might solve multiple problems that arise when the debate comes to a head next year.

Here's my take, which I wrote to a local newspaper:

With the upcoming presidential election, talk has turned
increasingly towards the possibility of government-run health care. Its advocates proclaim that it's wrong that
the U.S. is one
of the only industrialized countries that don⁈⁚t provide such a service and that
our social safety net is not comprehensive enough.

Perhaps I am simply a realist, but when I review this
government's past endeavors in humanitarian work, it's not exactly
sterling. Government housing projects
are generally hovels, Social Security has been repeatedly misused, the
"War on Poverty" has been an abysmal failure, the "War on
Drugs" is an abysmal failure, and the "War on Terror" borders on
failure (however, not because of the efforts of the soldiers, but, as usual,
because of the politicians); the list could go on for pages. The government has simply not proven itself
as a reliable source of help for those who are less fortunate. In short, to entrust the government and
politicians with our health is not only dangerous, it borders on insanity.

The cold reality: other health care systems in the world
that have socialized medicine are plagued with overcrowded hospitals,
second-rate equipment, huge waiting lists and a lack of good doctors. Becoming a doctor takes an enormous amount of
time and money; only the American system has the ability to retain its good
doctors because of the pay.
Government-run health care would obliterate the pay structure for these
hard working men and women just as it would obliterate a system that provides
some of the best service in the world; a system that has thousands, if not
millions, traveling to America to pay for services that, while "free"
in their own country, aren't available for months to years, effectively never
giving them a chance to live in the first place.

The government fails on so many levels to protect us, to
protect our food supplies from contamination, to care for our injured veterans;
there is absolutely no way that the government, run by the left or the right,
would run our health care with any kind of competence. To think otherwise is a
complete, utter delusion.

Ajax great point. I think, I would fall more under your rationale. Complete socialized medecine will not work in this country, there's just too much into it. The current system is not good either and needs to be changed.