Nat Henthoff: I am finally scared of a White House administration

[lblanchard]

All the old heads of LJ will recall Nat Henthoff as a fearless voice speaking truth to power for more than five decades -- notably at the Village Voice. Henthoff has been around the barn a few times and knows that the evil in a bill is rarely in the text but in the latitude it gives the bureaucrats. And Henthoff -- who stood up to the likes of J. Edgar Hoover -- is now afraid of the Obamacare bill. Skip it if you like, but I think all the Old Lefties on my f-list ought to read it:

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff081909.php3

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Under the British model, which Hentoff seems to find scary, the authorities have- in a few cases- refused to pay for very expensive drugs that might prolong (but not save) the lives of terminally ill patients. These decisions are always controversial- and in some cases (I can't cite examples) I believe the subsequent debate has caused the decision to be reversed. No-one has been pushing for euthanasia.

And, of course, the British system doesn't preclude people buying private health insurance, or paying for very expensive treatments out of their own pockets.

I've lived under the NHS all my life- and found it largely benign.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I understand that our five-year survival rates for such common cancers as breast and colon cancer are roughly twice yours. Perhaps your folks are more reluctant to get early screening than ours for cultural reasons? Or perhaps they aren't encouraged to do so? Or perhaps our treatments are both more expensive and more effective? Perhaps we're just a nation of tougher old buzzards? I don't know, but I'm glad my sister has colon cancer on this side of the pond, not yours.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that discrepancy. Apparently we're behind most of Europe too. I don't know what the reasons are, but I suspect health education has a lot to do with it.

Food for thought.