The author provides no source for his first bullet item.
The next two bullets come from sources that would make Bernie Maddof proud, anti-regulation, "only the free markets know best" political front... err ... think tank groups, The National Center for Policy Analysis (http://www.ncpa.org) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (http://www.oecd.org)
The final two bullets pull inflammatory quotes out of context from articles. You have to google to find them because the author apparently didn’t want you to see the "whole picture". They can be found here and here.
The physicians for a National Health Program have refuted the article’s "claims" and many more at their posting "Facts" About American Health Care Revisited"
Palin’s not the only Conservative to point (directly or indirectly) to the UK NHS as an example of what we don’t want s have in the US. Never mind that pointing to single payer systems is confusing, given that we’re actually discussing a public health insurance option.
But all this NHS bashing has given rise to push back from the UK. The average UK citizens have grown tired of the false allegations being made by the "batshit wingnuts of America". You can follow along with it on twitter, using a search for their group #welovethenhs Among the tweets to scroll across this morning, are links to Brits who are speaking out and want the truth to be known about the NHS.
Carmen Gets Around (II) posts and entertaining discription of his personal experiences growing up in the NHS system and concludes:
"I, like millions of other Brits, am very proud to say that I love the NHS! Batshit wingnuts of America, stop being such a whiny baby and check out this fantastic breakdown of why healthcare reform is a good idea, and this video outlining one of many reasons why Glenn Beck is a wanker. I have a bit of a soft spot for Americans, don’t let me down."
Kazeem Olalekan, a chemist from Southampton wrote an open letter to Americans going through what she perceived to be some of the biggest concerns regarding US healthcare reform. Her plea to Americans:
"I am just a pharmacist working in my NHS and helping my patients get the most out of their medications. I am also a good friend of America. Your country has given the world so much. It is time you give your citizens the gift of health. I felt compelled to write this because you brought my NHS into the debate. My NHS is not perfect but I love it. This is a golden opportunity for you to give yourself a healthcare you can call your own. Please don't let it pass. And guess what? I know you wouldn't."
Kate Spall, Katie Brickell and cancer specialist, Dr Karol Sikora told of how they were duped by Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) into recording video bashing the NHS (they were told it was for a documentary and CPR used single sentence clips in commercials instead)
And famously, physicist Stephen Hawking had to clarify that he was in fact a British Citizen when right leaning Investor’s Business Daily claimed he would have been "left to die" in the NHS.
While no one is proposing a NHS like system for the US, all this focus on the NHS and all these citizens who are coming forward to fight for their NHS, makes you wonder... why are we messing around with a public insurance option?
The NHS may not be perfect, but the UK has better healthcare outcomes than us with fewer doctors per capita, less diagnostics equipment per capita and spending only half of the dollars per patient per year.
Imagine what we could do starting from a point of more equipment, more doctors and we're already used to spending twice as much per person per year.
So, to answer you question, Mrs Palin, Yes a single payer system is what I want, but I’ll settle for a public insurance option.
Mike Huckabee are you listening?
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