SYSTEM ERROR

I've noticed that quite often when a person or a group wants to regulate something, they haul out their well-worn mantra : "it's a drain on the health care system". It's become a very popular excuse for a bunch of sanctimonious sissified do-gooders to tell you how to eat, work, drive, and now even how to play. This week it's skiing - the proposal for mandatory helmets on the slopes of Quebec - coming soon, of course, to a ski hill near you. Because if you ski, you might get hurt. And if you get hurt, you become... any guesses? That's right - a miserable selfish DRAIN ON THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. 

When are people going to realize that our health care system wastes money faster than my brother at a blackjack table? We aren't draining the system - it's draining us! We pay and we pay, but when we need treatment we have to wait, sometimes until it's too late. Or the treatment is not available, or is hopelessly inadequate - not enough equipment, beds, or staff. Why? Because all the money that is drained out of us does not go to patient care - a huge proportion is spent on studies, advertising, "information" programs, and paperwork. Then, to add insult to injury, we are treated disrespectfully by health care providers and hospitals, because we are seen as inconveniences rather than paying customers. People feel free to pass judgement; if you just hadn't eaten that extra Twinkie or skipped that exercise class, you wouldn't be in this fix. Now, say ten Hail Marys and put out that smoke.

Contrast that attitude with the way you are treated by your dentist or optometrist - prompt, courteous, and competent - right? Imagine how different things would be if you were paying directly for your health care and were actually perceived as a customer. They would WANT to give you good service, because you would take your business elsewhere if they didn't. You would no longer have to feel pathetically grateful when some bitchy nurse finally calls your name after a three-hour wait and can't even be bothered to look pleasant, much less apologize for the delay.

The problem with socialized medicine is that someone other than the consumer gets to decide how the money is spent, so we have virtually no control over our treatment or options, or where the funding ends up. Are you happy with the millions of dollars poured into "preventative" health campaigns that don't work? Or the brainwashing of your kids in school about health and the environment, even when the information is not correct? Are you happy to fork over money so junkies can have nice clean needles and a comfy place to shoot up? In a smoke-free building, of course - wouldn't want to put their health at risk.

In a free market system, you control how your health dollar is spent, you decide when you get treatment, and you live with the consequences of your own actions. Right now, the health care system is being drained all right, but not by sick people. It's being drained by special interest groups pushing their own agendas: anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-obesity, anti-sport, anti-marijuana, and now even anti-co2 ( talk about taxing the very air we breathe!). They all have one thing in common - using your health care contributions to finance their own cause.

If we weren't paying outrageous taxes to finance government spending, we could all afford to pay our own medical costs, directly or through private insurance. Medical care is expensive because the government is perceived as picking up the tab, so everyone feels free to abuse the system, from within and without. And then blame others for "draining" it.

Some people don't want to pay for smokers or fatties or skiers that don't wear helmets. Fair enough - but I don't want to pay for hypochondriacs, crackheads or neurotics who run to the doctor every time they see an ad for a new happy pill. And I sure as hell don't want to pay for studies on the health impact of fictitious global warming.

As an adult, I don't need anyone telling me how to live. I don't want or expect anyone else to finance my health care. I expect value for money spent, and I'm not getting it under the current system. People seem to think it's some kind of safety net, but if you look closely you'll see that net is full of holes and fraying at both ends. People are going out of country to get the care they need, either because they can't get it here or the wait could literally kill them. 

The present situation can't last - the demographics won't support it. The birth rate in Canada is below replacement level, and there are more and more people moving into retirement as the baby boomers leave the work force. Who will finance the big machine then? Not the kids, there aren't enough of them. When the system collapses, people will have to make their own arrangements. No one will have to pay for anyone else's "lifestyle choices", and therefore will have one less excuse to impose their values on others. We'll all have to get over this nation-wide "failure to launch", and stop expecting a parent government to look after us, because it won't.

Personally, I look forward to the day when I can go to the emergency room at three in the morning with a crying baby and have the staff actually show some concern instead of acting like I'm interrupting their coffee break. I expect better than that, I deserve better than that, and I'm more than willing to pay for it directly, avoiding the expense of a middleman and the constant harping of those who think my lifestyle is their business.