When we talk about Ron Paul we should look at the full picture. Does the current system work very well? No, it does not, it's much too expensive and there is no such thing as a free market. Big pharma is making big money by producing drugs that don't cure any disease but rather make you a lifetime member of taking them. Did the FDA ever do anything good for people with CFS? No, it didn't, we are all still ill. To the contrary, as was pointed out in another thread, the FDA has no incentive to approve drugs very fast. Does Ampligen ring a bell? The FDA makes it impossible for small companies to develop drugs but not only this, by slowing down the approval process, it kills thousands of people every year. Who is going to sue the FDA? The dead people? No, the FDA gets away with killing people by claiming that it is necessary for the benefit of all of us. All the FDA does is limit competition, secure monopolies and drive up prices for health. At the same time it keeps most people from taking care of themselves and their health on their own because they have no incentives to do so.
Here is a video where Milton Friedman says something very interesting about healthcare in a free market:
[video=youtube;-6t-R3pWrRw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6t-R3pWrRw[/video]
And here is what Ron Paul says about healthcare:
http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/health-care/
In these United States of America, one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, many people cannot afford even basic health insurance. They suffer severely under the present system and have to live under the constant fear of not knowing what they will do if they or their loved ones ever fall seriously ill.
But in many cases, insured individuals arent much better off either.
In comparison to the exorbitant insurance premiums they pay, the medical care they receive is often very poor.
Additionally, due to the government-enforced monopolies of HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) and pharmaceutical companies, many patients will never even hear about some of the most effective and non-invasive treatment methods. These natural and inexpensive ways of regaining ones health are being suppressed by the FDA and the medical establishment not because of safety concerns (theyve been around for hundreds of years), but because they cannot be patented and would therefore cut into the pharmaceutical industrys profits.
The current system is most definitely broken, and it must eventually be abolished if we want to regain both our health and our freedom.
But Obamacare is the worst possible answer. All it does is perpetuate a flawed system by forcing everyone to become a client of insurance companies, even those who dont want to or need to participate.
Why should anyone be forced to subsidize the medical care of others? Very few individuals would personally assault their neighbors at gunpoint and steal thousands of dollars to pay for their own medical needs. How could any freedom loving person agree to delegate such criminal acts to the government by supporting a compulsory health insurance system?
There is only one solution that will lead to true health and true freedom: making health care more affordable.
Ron Paul believes that only true free market competition will put pressure on the providers and force them to lower their costs to remain in business. Additionally, Ron Paul wants to change the tax code to allow individual Americans to fully deduct all health care costs from their taxes.
Through these measures and the elimination of government-sponsored health care monopolies a much larger number of people will be able to finally access affordable health care, either by paying for medical insurance or by covering their medical expenses, which are now much lower, out of their own pocket.
As for the poor and the severely ill who can neither obtain insurance nor pay for the medical care they need, Ron Paul offers the following solution in his book The Revolution: A Manifesto:
In the days before Medicare and Medicaid, the poor and elderly were admitted to hospitals at the same rate they are now, and received good care. Before those programs came into existence, every physician understood that he or she had a responsibility towards the less fortunate and free medical care was the norm. Hardly anyone is aware of this today, since it doesnt fit into the typical, by the script story of government rescuing us from a predatory private sector.
Illegal aliens already receive de-facto free health care. Why cant poor Americans have the same not as a right, but as a charitable benefit provided by doctors who feel a personal responsibility for their fellow citizens?
Unfortunately, the current medical monopoly corrupts many doctors by rewarding practices that are not in the patients best interest. Pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in not curing people, but getting them permanently addicted to expensive drugs that have many side effects, thereby requiring additional drugs to suppress those side effects. Many doctors are afraid to speak up and question the system for fear of being ostracized by their peers or even losing their license.
Under a liberated health care system prices would come down and additional options would become available, thereby making health care much more affordable. Moral corruption would give way to true compassion, and many doctors would remember their implicit obligation to provide free medical care to those in need, just like they did in the past.
As a medical doctor, Ron Paul swore the Hippocratic Oath many decades ago. His entire person and career is a monument to the beauty and sanctity of human life. Ron Paul knows that life without health can be very difficult and is not what it was meant to be. He has personally cared for the poor for many years, without asking anything in return.
The governments original role is to protect our freedoms and restrain itself from causing too much harm. Ron Paul is working to prevent greedy bureaucrats, opportunist politicians and corrupt pharmaceutical companies from having any sort of unhealthy influence over our bodies and minds.
