Interesting article that touches on the healthcare plans of various candidates (from a presentation by Dr. Timothy Lane, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill).
Excerpts:
One philosophical school views healthcare as a capitalistic good to be traded on the open market, Lane suggested, while the other describes it as a social good, guaranteed to all. Capitalist healthcare is based on the premise that when consumers have sufficient knowledge they are able to make rational decisions in weighing price against quality in the selection of options. Because of the urgency of personal healthcare needs and the complexity of medical practices, he proposed, consumers rarely have enough information to make timely and intelligent decisions about their healthcare.
"It's very hard to get this to perform as a capitalistic good," Lane said.
My favorite part:
Lane told his audience: "We have the best healthcare system in the world." He quickly added, "That's a statement you could get away with six or seven years ago. Now, if you said that in a hall, they'd laugh you out of the room."
One Republican candidate for president...does say that. On a heavily edited video posted to his campaign website, Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, champions the United States' healthcare delivery system utilizing a network of private insurers supplemented by limited government programs for the poor and elderly in exactly those words.
complete article:
http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=3249&TM=52953