Universal health care systems obviously have their flaws; any health care system that could possibly be pondered would have its flaws. The question is: Are the flaws of having universal health care, when done correctly, a bigger problem than the flaws that come along with a system more like our own? And the answer is a flat, "No." If managed and set up correctly, a universal health care system has been proven to yield better or equal benefits at lower costs.
The key words are "If managed and set up correctly". Can you name one government run program that has been managed and set up correctly? I bet you will have trouble finding one... FEMA? failure... Social Security? failure... CIA? FBI? Military? all completely bloated, in-efficient agencies. To think this will be the first really successful, truly well managed and 'set up correctly' is just living in a fantasy. The problem is, unlike military spending with their 20,000$ toilet seats and endless funneling of money to corporations. This system will not only flood money to the big pharma companies, but when it fails you wont be just broke but also dead. You are literally betting your LIFE that this new health care system will work and be well managed/setup correctly unlike every other government program. If you want to talk about the success of Japan's healthcare system for example, its not because the price of the care as much as the kind of care. For example Accupuncture is NOT covered under government health plan, not even the current medical or medicaid. In fact this year they stopped covering 'chiropractors' as well. Then there is the simple number of prescriptions and normal lifestyle of the Japanese versus Americans. You must admit the diet is very different, and they still allow doctors to prescribe or 'recommend' vitamins/minerals/nutrients/suppliments etc. That is almost unheard of here and in fact some things are not even legal to purchase due to "safety" with these vitamins and then the forced label that they "do not help cure or treat sickness of disease' which is completely counter intuitive and the opposite of what history has shown us... yet the pharmaceuticals of course are fine to ship across state borders even and they have side effects like "death". A universal healthcare plan can work great, just like a truly communist or socialist state can work if it was not corrupt. The problem is when the corruption appears and checks and balances have been removed. The US has a horrible medical industry at the moment, the amount of sick people rising due to more than just bad care, but diet, and bad prescriptions/vaccines at a young age which damage immune systems etc. These things need to be corrected long before a universal health care plan should be in effect.
Is there something specific that Obama is doing in this healthcare plan that makes you confident it will be "set up right" and not be yet another failed government program which will have direct impact on our health? I only hear nothing but buzz words and arguments over illegal immigrants which is a moot point. What will this plan REALLY do? How much will it cost? how will it help? these are the things they really dont talk about much... Why arent they trying to sell us the healthcare plan by telling us the benefits and costs? instead they are selling it through fear of "what if you cant be covered" and "look at this guy who had health care issues" just keeping the fear going to convince people its SO bad now that anything will be an improvement. Well the truth is, not "anything" will be an improvement. Our system is screwed this is a fact, but by forcing us to take part in a screwed system and forcing the screwed system on others or "guaranteeing" them the BAD care they need, is it really helping? You should see the number of people who die each year do to medical "mistakes". The number of people on prescription meds for no reason, this will only increase the numbers and pass the debt on to the taxpayers. Increasing the already incredible tax burden, sooner or later we will see 10% of our check and the rest will pay for failed government programs like Social Security or that Spanish American War tax that they recently removed after 100 or so years... These things once implemented are PERMANENT, not government program is temporary. So in reality, we know these things dont work well, but even if they did, its one more stab in the Back of America to take away your freedom of choosing health care, or participating in these sort of programs. This is great for people who want to live in a country where Government is treated like daddy who makes all your choices for you because you cannot make good choices yourself... like banning trans fats here in California... Im all for no trans fats, but is it the governments place to ban it from fast food because its "bad for you"? and is it their right to force you into a medical system you do not agree with? what if you want alternative medicine? Japanese medicine? Chinese medicines? many other therapies and proven techniques which have last hundreds or thousands of years... but those are not covered or available.. you will pay out of pocket, while at the same time you are stuck in a universal healthcare system that you pay for, so your paying double basically. This is not uncommon in countries with universal health care... If there was not limits on the type of care this wouldnt be AS dangerous, although still not 'safe' by any means.