Hsieh LTE in Pueblo Chieftain

One of my LTE's recently appeared in the Pueblo Chieftain on May 27, 2007 (halfway down the page):

Socialized medicine

The "single-payer" system that Dr. Anne Courtright (Chieftain, May 6) advocates is nothing more than socialized medicine, her claims to the contrary notwithstanding.

If the government foots the bill for everyone's health care, then inevitably it will demand to control how the money is spent. This will mean that crucial health care decisions will be made by politicians and bureaucrats, rather than patients and doctors.

Forcing everyone into an expanded version of Medicare because the current system has problems would be just as wrong as forcing everyone into government-run public housing because some people are homeless. This would be a gross violation of individual choice and individual rights.

Paul S. Hsieh, MD
Sedalia, CO