According to socialists nationalizing healthcare brings a utopian world where everybody can get access to any medical care they need for free. While nationalized healthcare may look good on the surface but when you scratch off the thin venire there is an ugly world or rationing underneath:
The NHS has recently released treatment guidelines stating that patients who are obese or who smoke will be banned from receiving “non-urgent” surgeries unless they first lose weight or quit smoking. While the NHS claims the new guidelines will increase the level of personal responsibility taken by patients, the healthcare bureaucrats behind this rule also acknowledge that it will help to free up limited healthcare resources.
Contrary to popular belief, the goal of a government is to make money for the members of the government. It does this through expropriation. In order to maximize its profits, a government needs to convince the people it’s steal from that it’s a legitimate entity, which requires throwing them bones. “Free” healthcare is a pretty large bone. By setting aside some of its stolen money a government can convince a lot of people of its legitimacy, which allows it to keep stealing for longer. But “free” can quickly begin to cut into the government’s profits. Once that happens the government begins finding ways to curtail the “free” goods or services.
The National Health Service (NHS) is going for the low hanging fruit by cutting off smokers and obese individuals, which will likely enjoy popular support since both conditions are voluntarily brought on by the individual. However, the rationing won’t stop there. At some point the NHS will likely being to issue guidelines against treating people with certain “undesirable” traits such as genetic conditions that cause an individual to be more prone to develop a debilitating condition. To make matters worse, the British government won’t refund any tax dollars to those who are deemed ineligible for “free” healthcare, which will deprive those individuals of money they could spend on private healthcare options.