The U.S. health care system in two and a half years

On January 1, 2014, the full-blown Obamacare package kicks in. Then the U.S. will slide into a Canadian style healthcare system where the government calls all the shots. The same holds true in England, where people can die from dehydration and malnourishment in a hospital. Read the disturbing article here.

Obamacare trailer

I love movie trailers - they give you an enticing quick look at a movie. This article is like a movie trailer - it gives us a quick look at the current and future healthcare system in the United States.

As was expected, Medicaid is now struggling mightily to cover costs and provide services. And enrollment has grown steadily as the recession continues. Once the full Obamacare health plan is implemented in three years, the enrollment will swell, the costs will rise, and the services will decrease.

This is why Austrian economics is so important. Only the Austrians have been predicting the horror that is now healthcare. You may not be feeling it yet, but you will. The home of the Austrians on the web is mises.org.

Maine has tried "Obamacare" - and it doesn't work

In 2003 the state of Maine put into action its version of universal health care. The results just six years later? Disaster. The system the government of Maine put in place was supposed to save money, but it has cost Maine taxpayers $155 million and the costs are still rising.

First of all, Maine got $50 million from us (I mean the federal government) to start the program. Then, the plan tried to save money by squeezing payments to hospitals and doctors (they really built in a nice incentive for hospitals and doctors to deliver quality care, didn't they?).

The program had a "public option," plus, people were not to be turned down for pre-existing health problems. Guess what happened. Well, as usual when the government tries to repeal the fundamental laws of economics, perverse conditions occur. So Maine has experienced a 74% increase in premiums. A healthy male who is 30 and single pays a montly premium of $762 in Maine, but in nearby New Hampshire, the same person pays only $222. The program is such a bust that they've closed it down to new enrollees, and people are put on a waiting list.

This is Obamacare in a nutshell, tried out in tiny little Maine (and also in Oregon, Tennessee and Massachusetts, with the same results). So when it's applied to the whole nation? - yes, disaster. Time for a return to a free market in medicine with no government involvement.