More or less. The USA has taken a big step towards having a healthcare system they can be proud of.
I can’t be the only person who’s watched this unfold and felt that the Republicans weren’t opposed for ideological reasons but out of fear. By doing the right thing- making life easier for millions of people- Barack Obama will win a huge number of votes. The Republicans are facing years in the wilderness, no wonder they were scared of health care reform.
I’m a big fan of anything that makes republicans look stupid but this could be a problem.
If the state takes responsibility for the health of the individual, rather than letting individuals take responsibility for their own health, the state also often seems to acquire some idea that it must legislate to protect the health of the individual. From this grows the ‘nanny state’ and we are an example of this in its most mature form with the crushing costs of the NHS on the state and the ever growing welfare state. In this country we have removed responsibility from the individual and our society has suffered because of it.
Except that the NHS doesn’t cost us as much as the US system cost its citizens. And we manage to have a greater lifespan and lower child mortality rate.
There may be problems with the NHS, but it guarantees everyone in the UK a level of care that was denied to millions of Americans.Trying to control what the “common man” does, allegedly for their own good, is just something politicians feel the need to do. Back to the Republicans- they’re the ones who want to control what women are alowed to do when it comes to pregnancy. The Nanny state is just the liberal manifestation of the controlling urge all those given a little power tend to exhibit.