‘Clearly Fits Definition Of Socialized Medicine’

To The Editor:
A recent Herald letter writer stated that HealthCare Reform (Obamacare) is not socialized medicine and that is not debatable. World Book Dictionary defines socialized medicine as follows: “Socialized medicine is the providing of medical care and hospital services for all classes of society, especially through government subsidization and administration.” Based on the small amount of information issued to date on the reform, it clearly fits this above definition.
One egregious section of the reform law reads as follows, Page 65, Section 164: “The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union employees, union retirees and for community organizations (e.g. Acorn). Another, Page 241 and 253, “Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors’ fees.” It is not difficult to understand why the governors of 20 states have sued the government claiming that the health reform law is unconstitutional.
The opening paragraph of Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution reads: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States, but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.” It then continues by listing 17 different paragraphs enumerating various powers addressing examples of what is referred to in the opening paragraph of Section 8. Not one is these even remotely refers to health or healthcare.
JOHN YOUNG
Dennisville