I don’t think that most people realize the loss of freedom that we will all be forced to endure if socialized medicine is ever fully implemented in America.  Most people will emotionally agree that providing affordable healthcare for every one who requires it is the humane way to go, but people who feel this way simply don’t understand the full ramifications of this type of National policy.  If taken to its ultimate conclusion, there are many problems with socialized medicine, and a significant factor is the loss of freedoms to most Americans, especially doctors.

As far back 1927 Governmental control over the healthcare system in America was proposed as way to sell socialism to the American people.  Fifty years ago, in 1961, Ronald Reagan warned the American people about the goals of the Socialists in America when explained, “Now back in 1927 an American socialist, Norman Thomas, six times candidate for president on the Socialist Party ticket, said the American people would never vote for socialism. But he said under the name of liberalism the American people will adopt every fragment of the socialist program.  One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can't afford it.”

This is exactly the tactic that was used to promote the ACA when it was being debated in the court of public opinion in 2009.  The proponents of the ACA asked. “How can any caring citizen deny necessary medical care for any American, just because they can’t afford it?”  Liberals claim that Americans have a ‘right’ to healthcare, and play on your emotions.  Either liberals are lying or they don’t understand what a ‘right’ really means. Let’s hope they don’t understand what a ‘right’ truly is, so let me explain. 

A ‘right’ is a universal concept that exists in an unlimited way to every individual. If you are exercising your ‘right’ in no way does this diminish anyone else’s claim to the same ‘right’; as true rights are boundless.  Your ‘right’ to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the pursuit of happiness, does not lessen the amount of freedom for anyone else to have the ‘right’ to do the same.

Healthcare is not a ‘right’ because it is not available in an unlimited quantity, nor does your use of healthcare not limit healthcare for everyone else, as exercising a true ‘right’ would not limit anyone else’s enjoyment of the same ‘right’.  When you increase the availability of a finite resource, such as healthcare, for one person you necessarily decrease the amount available to another person.  Also, do you not reduce a healthcare provider’s right to the pursuit of happiness when you decrease their ability to set their own price or practice where they what to practice?

In a latter portion of the same speech, Ronald Reagan also warned against the government controlling doctor’s ability to practice: “The doctor begins to lose freedoms; it's like telling a lie, and one leads to another. First you decide that the doctor can have so many patients. They are equally divided among the various doctors by the government. But then the doctors aren't equally divided geographically, so a doctor decides he wants to practice in one town and the government has to say to him you can't live in that town, they already have enough doctors. You have to go some place else. And from here it is only a short step to dictating where he will go.  This is a freedom that I wonder whether any of us have the right to take from any human being.”

You may think that the ACA does not limit where a doctor may practice, but not so fast.  In fact, the Clinton’s healthcare reform in the 1990’s, had specific language dictating where doctors and specialists may practice, though that entire effort at socialized medicine was also defeated by the American public. 

You may wonder why, within the comprehensive ACA bill, that the Federal Government moved away from guaranteeing student loans made by private banks to making student loans directly to students.  Not only does this take tens of thousands of jobs out of the private banking sector and move them into government jobs, but it also gives the Federal Government complete control over students.  You say you need a student loan in order to attend medical school?  Sure, we’ll grant you a loan, if you promise to practice in a rural area that is currently underserved by medical doctors.  While the government will not directly tell you where to practice, it will coerce young medical students into practicing where the government thinks is best, or practicing the type of medicine that the government thinks is needed.

To many Americans, and future medical students, this may sound far fetched.  But remember; only 2 years ago we would never have thought that the Federal Government would own a part of GM.  We are moving closer to socialized medicine than most people realize, and this will limit doctor’s income and the freedom to practice where and which specialty they choose to practice.  I would urge every doctor to look at the facts of the ACA and its long term ramifications, not just believe what the media is reporting.  The future of healthcare in America is at stake, and so are the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy.