I Love the Kerry Healthcare Plan

I love it, love it, love it. I want everyone to have affordable/free health insurance so bad I can taste it. But as I read more on the topic and observe nations like Canada and the UK who are trying to provide it, I have to admit to myself that it's just not possible. It just goes against human nature.

Note this post by Sydney Smith comparing Kerry's plan to a similar plan that Tennessee already runs:

The program's generosity, however, did not include doctors and hospitals, whose reimbursement rates are so low that seeing Tenncare patients is a losing proposition. As a result, access to care is a very real problem for Tenncare patients, some of whom have to drive 40 miles just to see a doctor. (And keep in mind, those are mountain miles.) And what about the children? Only 19% of pediatricians in Tennessee accept Tenncare, the lowest participation rate of any state in the union. As a result, over one-third of children enrolled in Tenncare have trouble finding a doctor. That's a very real problem. And one that's much more serious and damaging to a child's health than lack of insurance.

Under Kerry's plan, fully half of American families would have their children covered. The only way to pay for this is to demand that prices be kept low. Why do we still think that we can dictate prices and not suffer the consequences? We might not notice for a few years, until the supply of medical students dries up when kids figure out that doctors can't make enough money to compensate for the long years of study and the high student loan payments. Or when doctors start to retire early or even change fields because they can't pay their medical malpractice insurance and still put food on the table.

As a former supporter of single-payer health insurance plans, it pains me to admit that I was wrong. Not so much wrong, as ignorant of the ways of the world and guilty of wishfull thinking.

Update:

"This is just the typical garbage and propaganda from the drug manufacturers," says Carlton Carl, spokesman for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. "There's absolutely no disincentive for making vaccines. American companies don't do it for the same reason they're sending jobs overseas--because it increases their profits."

Maybe someone could explain to Mr. Carl that not making a profit is a disincentive.