Fifty million Frenchmen — or 895 Americans who voted in a New York Times/CBS News poll — can be wrong.

The majority of those polled want a government-run insurance plan, say they’d be willing to pay higher taxes to support it, and think the government could do a better job of controlling healthcare costs than the private sector can.

Right. The way it’s done a great job reining in the price of Medicare? The way Massachusetts has done such a great job of translating “health insurance for all” into actual care for all?

I love how “4 in 10 [said they were] willing to pay as much as $500 more a year” to make healthcare-for-all happen. I want to slap these people. WAKE UP! It’s not going to be $500, it’s going to be thousands — for care rationed out by bureaucrats! Not to mention — just because you would be willing to pay more for the rest of the country to have health insurance, doesn’t mean I am. Yes, some people need health care and don’t have it. Their need does not constitute a claim on my property. I need health care, too — and I work my butt off to pay for it. Others who need care should do the same — or rely on voluntary charity, not extortion.

And one more quote that steams me up: “Three of four people questioned said unnecessary medical tests and treatments had become a serious problem, suggesting that they would support calls by health researchers for a payment system that would better reward appropriate care.” Such a system is easy to envision. It’s called a free market. If consumers bore the full cost of their healthcare decisions, they would think a lot harder about whether they need this test or that pill. Bring the government into it, and decisions will be made not by what’s best for each individual and what he or she can afford, but rather based on national averages (too bad for those who need more care than average) and pull-peddling (which healthcare company is in favor with Congress this week?). Make the government offer care to everyone, and you’ll remove the incentive for an individual to decide for himself what level of care he needs and can pay for. When healthcare is “free,” you can bet Americans are going to want even more tests, procedures, and drugs — and then it’s not you and your doctor, but a bureaucrat, who will decide whether your care is necessary or not.

Congress, Mr. Obama: The respondents to this poll don’t speak for all Americans. There are those of us who know what our rights are and don’t want you trampling on them even more than they have been already. Leave healthcare alone!

reasonpharm.blogspot.com