Free Republic

British doctors will take the historic step of admitting for the first time that many health treatments will be rationed in the future because the NHS cannot cope with spiralling demand from patients. In a major report that will embarrass the government, the British Medical Association will say fertility treatment, plastic surgery and operations for varicose veins and minor childhood ailments, such as glue ear, are among a long list of procedures in jeopardy. James Johnson, the BMA chairman, will warn that patients face a bleak future because they will increasingly be denied treatments. He will urge the NHS to...

Low water pressure hampered efforts today to fight a fire that raged through the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, destroying a soundstage, the theme park's King Kong attraction, a video vault and sets such as the Courthouse Square seen in "Back to the Future" and the New York street scape from "Bruce Almighty." As the equivalent of two city blocks burned -- firefighters were still dousing hot spots 10 hours after the blaze began in predawn darkness -- a mushroom-like cloud of smoke drifted over surrounding neighborhoods, raising some health concerns. A large explosion near the video storage building...

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — A massive fire raged on a back lot at Universal Studios early Sunday, devouring several movie sets, including mock New York and New England streets. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said. "The facades are constructed of heavy timber and they tend to burn quite freely," he said. The blaze broke out just before dawn on a sound stage,...

According to the sages of the Talmud, there are 70 families with 70 paths within the great Family of Man. And each individual has his or her path within a path. Yet, there is one universal basis for us all. At the dawn of human history, G-d gave man seven rules to follow in order that His world be sustained. So it is recounted in the Book of Genesis as interpreted by our tradition in the Talmud. There will come a time, our sages told us, that the children of Noah will be prepared to return to this path. That...

Once they discover that she is Dr. Kate, the supplicants line up to approach at dinner parties and ballet recitals. Surely, they suggest to Dr. Katherine J. Atkinson, a family physician here, she might find a way to move them up her lengthy waiting list for new patients. Those fortunate enough to make it soon learn they face another long wait: Dr. Atkinson’s next opening for a physical is not until early May — of 2009. Now in Massachusetts, in an unintended consequence of universal coverage, the imbalance is being exacerbated by the state’s new law requiring residents to have...

Medicare is poised to wreak havoc on the economy. And our presidential candidates are avoiding the issue. Twice I have asked Alan Greenspan what he considers the greatest threat to the U.S. economy, and both times he has answered immediately with a single word: Medicare. He isn't so worried about the trade deficit and the housing crash; he figures market forces will sort them out. But Medicare is something else - a multitrillion-dollar problem that's about to get dramatically worse, and one that nobody wants to talk about. You'd think that the greatest threat to America's economy would be Topic...

TOKYO - An 89-year-old woman died after an ambulance crew spent two hours trying 30 hospitals before finding one that would accept her for treatment, Japanese officials said Friday. The woman's family called an ambulance early Tuesday morning after she became ill with vomiting and diarrhea, said Hideto Matsumoto, a fire official in Tondabayashi City, Osaka prefecture (state). The ambulance crew and local fire department contacted 30 hospitals before one finally said it could admit her, Matsumoto said — about two hours after her family had called for an ambulance. The woman's heart stopped when she was taken to Osaka...

I am a small-government conservative/libertarian and have hated the concept of socialized medicine almost all my life. But now, I could live with universal health coverage in the U.S.. Here's why. We now have the worst of both worlds: we are paying for universal health coverage, but not getting it. In fact, we pay more for health care in taxes than countries that provide universal coverage. Then we pay more than that amount again in private coverage. Additionally, what we have now in the U.S. is nowhere near a free market in health care. Defending the status quo is not...

Like getting cold cocked in a barroom fight .. it hit me today ...

...As she spoke, memories of the Clinton years wafted through my head — government by seminar running into the late hours. But as she will tell you (before you even have a chance to ask), she has learned a lot since the early 1990s, and while the conversations may still be endless, they are also more restrained. And it’s true. The plan she unveiled yesterday is much simpler than the one she came up with 14 years ago. Back then, she and her staff were like technocratic engineers, one of her advisers told me, trying to patch every last gap...

RUSH: If John Edwards is going to require every one of us under his universal health care plan, socialized medicine, to go to the doctor all the time -- it's going to be mandatory; the government is going to make us go to the doctor -- then I have an idea. I think the government should make every American have access to a lawyer. I think the federal government should take over the whole legal field, just like they're taking over the whole health care industry. Take over the legal business. Set prices for all services. Set salaries for all...

Universal Housing It’s time that America stop being so greedy and take care of it’s people better. Right now there is a crisis which affects tens of millions of Americans who are trying to improve their lives. They are not getting the most basic of needs. Often they have to decide between food and this other need. Often they cannot afford both. It’s disgusting that in a country so full of wealth that there are still people who don’t own their own home!! All across America, real estate costs have increased so much that some Americans will never have the...

A strange-bedfellows alliance of liberal advocacy groups, labor unions and Big Business is trying to resurrect “HillaryCare.” Major corporations, which will benefit if government picks up the tab for their employees’ health care, are joining with the liberal group Families USA to press for more government health care spending. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is in on the deal too. Its partner? Wal-Mart!...... For conservatives, it must seem like HillaryCare Redux. This time, however, the reform effort is different in one important respect. In 1993-1994 many industry groups opposed Hillary Clinton's attempt to nationalize America’s health care system. Now...

A grandfather died after a blister caused by tight new shoes led to blood poisoning and massive organ failure. Peter Catterall, 60, was given dressings by a district nurse and told the sore on his toe should heal by itself. But just over a week later, the retired electrician suffered two heart attacks. [snip] But according to his youngest daughter, Sara, 21, the sore continued to weep, and when she went to see him a week later on July 1 he confessed: "This toe is killing me." Miss Catterall said yesterday: "I am no nurse, but I immediately knew he...

BOSTON - The goal was as audacious as it was simple: Plug the holes in Massachusetts' health care network without resorting to the politically nuclear option of a single government-funded program. The result is a landmark insurance law praised as innovative, derided as a house of cards and touted by former Gov. Mitt Romney as he runs for president. As of Sunday, nearly everyone in Massachusetts must be insured or face a series of increasing tax penalties. The law won't result in universal coverage immediately, but the deadline is a critical mile marker. "July 1 is really a call to...

Waiting four months for an MRI, sitting for seemingly interminable hours in emergency rooms and having cancer surgery considered “elective” are a few of the risks those country’s with universal healthcare take. If America listens to Democrats and Michael Moore, waiting lists, under-funding and less medical options are the future of American healthcare. I watched “Sicko” on the internet, where a bootleg copy was posted before the film’s release. Moore’s new film, “Sicko,” released June 29, attacks the American healthcare system, trying to make a case that patients in communist Cuba get better care. The documentary targets viewer’s emotions with...

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Universal health care is the primary focus of the new "progressive" agenda for liberals now back in the political driver's seat after winning control of Congress, according to liberal leaders attending the annual Take Back America conference in Washington this week. On Monday, leaders from the sponsoring group, Campaign for America's Future, joined representatives of other liberal advocacy groups to introduce what they called "bold reforms" for the political debate. Propelled by momentum from the November 2006 elections, liberals are pushing for an end to the war in Iraq, political action to address climate change and increased...

Governor Deval Patrick plans to unveil a proposal today to make Massachusetts' community colleges, among the priciest in the nation, free to all high school graduates in the state by the year 2015, according to documents obtained by the Globe. The proposal is the centerpiece of Patrick's vision for a "cradle to career" education system that would dramatically expand the concept of public education in Massachusetts. The plan, which he will outline during commencement at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, would also provide preschool for all children, extend the school day and year, and guarantee two years of community...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans get the poorest health care and yet pay the most compared to five other rich countries, according to a report released on Tuesday. Germany, Britain, Australia and Canada all provide better care for less money, the Commonwealth Fund report found. "The U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes," the non-profit group which studies health care issues said in a statement. Canada rates second worst out of the five overall. Germany scored highest, followed by Britain, Australia and New Zealand. "The United States is...

Thirty-six companies have decided to join forces in a push to extend health insurance to all Americans, The Los Angeles Times reported today. Similar proposals have come from presidential candidates, Congress and labor groups, but this appears to be the biggest effort by corporate America so far. Members of the coalition “employ more than 1.7 million workers, and 18 of the companies are among the Fortune 500’s biggest firms,” The Times said. The leader of the Coalition to Advance Health Care Reform would seem an unusual choice. As chairman and chief executive of Safeway, Steve Burd endured a strike of...