Esmail: "'Too Old' for Hip Surgery"

The February 9, 2009 Wall Street Journal has published an OpEd by Nadeem Esmail warning of the health care rationing we'll be facing if we continue on our current course towards nationalized health care. Here is an excerpt:

'Too Old' for Hip Surgery

President Obama and Congressional Democrats are inching the U.S. toward government-run health insurance. Last week's expansion of SCHIP -- the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- is a first step. Before proceeding further, here's a suggestion: Look at Canada's experience.

Health-care resources are not unlimited in any country, even rich ones like Canada and the U.S., and must be rationed either by price or time. When individuals bear no direct responsibility for paying for their care, as in Canada, that care is rationed by waiting.

Canadians often wait months or even years for necessary care. For some, the status quo has become so dire that they have turned to the courts for recourse. Several cases currently before provincial courts provide studies in what Americans could expect from government-run health insurance...

For more discussion of problems with Canadian health care, click here.