The "Forgotten Man" Speaks

Colorado is preparing to enslave some of its most productive and important citizens: namely, its physicians. Whether you live there or not, this is an issue that will soon affect you in one way or another as our country once again ignores mountains of evidence from around the world that socialized medicine is a life-threatening idea -- in order to seriously entertain the notion of putting it into practice.

With that in mind, I urge you to stop by Noodle Food (if you haven't done so already) and read Paul Hsieh's excellent open letter to his fellow Colorado physicians.

I completely oppose any form of socialized medicine, regardless of whether it is called "single payer", "mandatory universal coverage", or anything else, because I believe it would be bad for both patients and doctors. Years of experience in the US and other countries have shown that these programs will hurt patients and cause unnecessary patient deaths. As costs inevitably spiral upward, bureaucrats will ration medical services. Eventually, physicians will be forced to practice against their best medical judgment. This is a violation of the fundamental rights of both doctors and patients. [bold added]

At the end of his letter is a list of references on socialized medicine that anyone who values freedom, good health, and indeed his very life should become very familiar with. I cannot recommend this post enough.

Ayn Rand once called the physician "the forgotten man of socialized medicine". Fortunately for the citizens of Colorado (and perhaps the rest of this country), this is one physician who will not be forgotten so easily.

This isn't just his battle, and so we are all very fortunate that he is fighting it. Thank you, Paul.

-- CAV

PS: If you are concerned about fighting socialized medicine, and especially if you are a physician from Colorado, you may find the Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM) website -- which also hosts the primary location for the letter -- to be of interest. Also check its blog for updates here or in my sidebar.

Updates

4-12-07: Added PS.