Doug Farrago comments on the failure of universal children’s coverage in Hawaii, where the program was discontinued after 7 months. It’s a good example of what would happen if health care was “free”:
Families that had private coverage were dropping it so they could get the free care as well. I don’t think this experiment should be ignored. It really needs to be examined to see what went wrong and how Americans think. As physicians, we all want people to have the appropriate healthcare but it can be abused and just giving it away will bankrupt us all. The people of Hawaii have spoken and they have said that even if they have the money to pay for their doctor’s visit or medication, they still would rather get it for free.
P.J. O’Rourke was never more right.
