| Obamacare Will Lead to Socialized Medicine By Michael Reagan News reports on the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) fill the role of an Obamacare Early Warning System for me. The NHS is what the left wanted here all along. Socialized medicine paid for and completely controlled by the government. Problems with the NHS have a tendency over time to make their way across the water and come ashore in the U.S., so it makes good sense to do as I do. Optimists in the audience may believe the threat is past, since the new year will bring a Republican House and Senate that have promised to repeal Obamacare. Yet these same politicians promised to fight Obama's unconstitutional illegal alien amnesty to the last ditch; and we know this time the Alamo surrendered without firing a shot. Editor's Notes: Special: Top 5 New Year's Weight Loss Tips Are You an AARP Member? Please Read Immediately... That is why it is very disturbing to learn that in the first two weeks of December "3,113 elective operations were cancelled," according to the Sunday Times. Don't be confused by the word elective. We aren't talking about tummy tucks and breast enhancement. These are operations that the patient needs, but won't die immediately if he doesn't have them. Hip replacements, knee replacements, cataract surgery, and cancer surgery all come under the rubric of elective — but they're hardly optional. Even the NHS admits 161 of the procedures were urgent and that some had been canceled two or more times. Shafi Ahmed, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, told the Times, "There is currently unprecedented demand on the NHS resulting in more cancellations of planned surgical operations." Sure, all those patients rushing to get their operations done so they could visit Santa at the mall. This is what happens when experts try to replace the wisdom of the market, and when they are also the government disaster just around the corner. They can't raise prices or taxes, so they ration the supply — blaming it on demand. There are shortages of doctors, beds and hospitals in the UK because free health care isn't really free. The patient may not pay directly, but he pays in the end through a crushing tax burden, limited medical choices, and an unresponsive government healthcare system. The problems we had this year with Veterans Administration hospitals are a preview of what Obamacare will be like if the left has its way. Eating is even more crucial to health than healthcare, yet neither the UK nor the U.S. has a National Food System. The market takes care of supply, price and availability. The consumer does the rest. The healthcare system could work the same way, if government would get out of the way. The only areas in medicine that have seen price declines are laser surgery and cosmetic surgery. Why? Neither are covered by insurance or mandated by government. The market takes care of supply and pricing. We supply the demand. The UK is no doubt stuck forever with the NHS. But we don't have to keep Obamacare. Continue to pressure your Member of Congress to repeal and not replace it. Forward stories that detail with woes of the NHS like this one. Maybe they will take the hint. Michael Reagan is the son of former President Ronald Reagan and chairman of the League of American Voters. His blog appears on reaganreports.com More Links: 18.79% Annual Returns . . . for Life? ALERT: These 5 Things Activate Cancer in Your Body | 
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