The Road We’re Going Down Will Bite Us

On June 4, this column focused on the deleterious consequences of a government-controlled health care system, citing Dr. Zane Pollard and other physicians, (America’s Healthcare Troubles: When do we wake up?) Pollard tells of the lack of concern for the quality of care in a government-controlled system. He said that “People of means, as well as those who need substantial financial assistance, must be able to trust their doctors. When government sets up rigid protocols that control the surgical procedures a doctor may perform, that limits the medicines approved for treatment, and that denies a critical diagnostic scan that may save a patient’s life, the bond of trust is broken.”
In response, Dr. Brian Altman of Ocean City called, and we arranged to meet. As a friend and associate of Pollard, Altman stated that everything Pollard had said was true. “I’m Idealistic. I look at things from a what’s-better-for-people viewpoint and what’s better for our country. I don’t follow any politician’s agenda unless they seem to encourage reward for work and doing a good job and doing things correctly.”
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“When I see the government get into
health care I just shudder.” Dr. Brian Altman
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Altman also said that we might start seeing what has occurred within the VA, albeit on a national level. “I think what we’re evolving towards is a system similar to England. In England, everybody gets national health care; they can go to a clinic or a physician and get care for a condition. But suppose you’re in England and you need a new hip. Well, if you go to national health care, the doctor will say ‘yes, you need a new hip,’ and then he’ll place you on a list. Then it’s very much like what’s going on in the VA hospitals, which by the way, is exactly the same system that I went through in Public Health Service, it’s the same garbage that goes on and it went on for many years. They say ‘OK we’ll put you on the list’ and you may get your hip in two to three years if you’re still around. Or you can go to Harley Street, which is where the private doctors are in London. You get your exam, pay the fee, get your hip in a week. It’s just a matter of, if you can pay for it you get it. Now, is that unfair to those who can’t afford it? Well, in a way it is. I feel badly if they’re on the two-year waiting list to get their hip. They have a two-tier system, and I think we’re going to wind up with that. It’s not that I’m violently anti-anything but when I see the government get into health care I just shudder.”
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Altman has good reason to shudder. As citizens, we need a system that functions in the best interest of its citizens. Even if we do not agree with what is being done, we should always have the comfort of knowing that that system is truly trying to do what is best. With what is going on in health care at the moment, we can see the system doing what is objectively worse for us. Something needs to be done.
From the Bible
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. Proverbs 3:13-14