This Wins the “Booby Prize” for Great Moments in Government-Run Healthcare

I’ve posted some horrifying examples about what happens when you put politicians and bureaucrats in charge of health care.

The story that makes every guy wince comes from Sweden, where a man wound up having his penis amputated because of government incompetence.

And I’ve shared numerous examples of substandard care from the United Kingdom, in part because I can’t resist mocking Paul Krugman.

Speaking of the U.K., here’s a story that may lure some young men into supporting government-run healthcare.

Did taxpayers get good value for their money?

…22-year-old Josie Cunningham recently was approved for breast enhancement surgery that cost more than $7,000, and paid for entirely by taxpayers, reports Opposing Views. Why? Because she told her General Practitioner that being flat-chested was causing her emotional distress. “My GP referred me for the operation because I wasn’t just flat-chested — I didn’t have any boobs whatsoever,” Cunningham said. “I could never go on holiday as I lived in terror of ever being seen in a bikini and could never set foot outside without a padded bra.” Her doctor’s prescription to counter the “emotional distress” was to enhance her breast size from a 32A to 36DD.

I’ve never heard of the website that contains this story, and I’ve never heard of Opposing Views, where it supposedly originated, so I confess to being a bit skeptical of this story.

Then again, who would have guessed that the government in the United Kingdom would provide taxpayer-financed sex trips to Amsterdam? Or that the bureaucrats at the European Commission would be able to get penile implants at public expense?

Closer to home, let’s not forget that Obamacare allows taxpayer-subsidized viagra for sex offenders! And Medicare pays for penis pumps, which creates frightening visual images.

So even if this specific story isn’t true, I have no doubt that the British government has squandered money in similar ways.

P.S. Speaking of breast augmentation, one of the few well-functioning parts of the American healthcare system is cosmetic surgery. Why? Because consumers largely pay out of pocket and, as a result, costs are restrained.

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Obamacare May Be a Joke, but We’re Paying a Heavy Price for some Amusing Cartoons

I’m not sure why political cartoonists have been revisiting the issue of Obamacare in recent days, but I’ve been enjoying their humor.

I shared three funny cartoons a couple of days ago, adding to my collection of Obamacare humor (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Now let’s enjoy three more, beginning with this gem from Lisa Benson.

Though we shouldn’t laugh at this cartoon. As we saw with both Medicaid and Medicare, entitlement programs routinely cost far more than original projections.

If you somehow think Obamacare might be different, watch this video.

Gary Varvel hits a different part of Obamacare, noting that the President’s promise of lower premiums is an utter fantasy.

And Michael Ramirez looks at the big picture.

I want to close with an optimistic point about the prospect of changing this terrible law.

Thanks to government programs and other forms of regulation and intervention, we had a bad healthcare system before Obamacare.

And even though it was government that was causing the system to malfunction, many people blamed the free market. And the President took advantage of that misunderstanding to push he legislation.

So now we have Obamacare, which has made the system a bit more statist.

But most people think Obamacare was much bigger than it actually was, with some actually thinking we used to have a free market!

Anyway, this flawed perception works to our advantage since it will now be possible to blame any bad news in the healthcare world on  Obamacare.

As such, I expect that Obamacare will remain unpopular.

The real question will be whether reformers will rally behind proposals to not just repeal Obamacare, but to actually restore a free market.

If you want to understand what needs to happen, I encourage you to watch two short videos, one from Reason TV and the other from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.

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