Health Care, Ron Paul Style?

Ron Paul supporters say the darndest things. Bill Sardi gives his vision of health care in the year 2050. He predicts we’ll have half as many doctors, which presumably would make it much easier to slash and ultimately eliminate government spending on health care. There won’t be any need for antibiotics either as we will use Vitamin D to treat bacterial infections, and for the really stubborn infections we’ll turn to a garlic derivative. Similarly vitamins will replace chemotherapy to eliminate cancer.

Being a Paul supporter we even have a conspiracy theory. All those journal articles I’ve read showing that intensive treatment with Statins can reverse plaque in coronary arteries, as well as decrease inflammation which contributes to heart disease, are part of a government plot to tamper with our precious bodily fluids:

Cholesterol-lowering drugs are no longer employed since they never were shown to lower mortality rates and it was later revealed that government health authorities created this misdirection long ago in an effort to covertly reduce birth rates and population growth (cholesterol being a precursor for sex hormones – estrogen and testosterone).

This is the most shocking revelation since General Jack D. Ripper informed us that “fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face” in Doctor Strangelove.

Sardi knows about all the changes to come in health care because this is information now available but kept hidden (yet another conspiracy) and Ron Paul will put an end to this:

The striking disappointment is that all of this was known over 40 years ago but entrenched financial interests prevented these health practices from being implemented in a timely manner.

These changes began in 2008 with the election of Ron Paul as the 44th President of the United States, which signaled a major change in the direction of healthcare.

Ron Paul supporters truly do live in an alternative reality. Its too bad there’s not another Republican YouTube debate so that someone can ask Paul his views on antibiotics, chemotherapy, and cholesterol-lowering medications just as he was asked his views on conspiracy theories in the last debate. We already know that Paul doesn’t see a distinction between a zygote and a fully developed human. Without another YouTube debate we might not learn if Sardi’s ideas are another area where Paul shares views with his followers since the mainstream media generally doesn’t seem to care to look at anything more than his opposition to the war.

14 Comments

  1. 1
    Eric Dondero says:

    “Latinos for Paul” have a video up on their site, also on YouTube, in Spanish, saying that if Paul is elected he’ll bring “universal health care” protect America’s children.

    Either Ron Paul has truly moved left, completing his leftward turn that started with his views on foreign policy, or the “Latinos for Paul” don’t know a damn thing about libertarian views on economics.

  2. 2
    Ron Chusid says:

    Latinos for Paul clearly has no idea of who they are supporting. Of course I could say the same about many libertarians who see Paul as one of them.

  3. 3
    Britton says:

    Ron Paul is the only medical doctor running for president this election. I’m going to say that again- Ron Paul is an OB/GYN.

    You need to listen to the man and listen to what he says. He’s been in Washington long enough to know that we have a corporate run health system, and that corporate and univeral health care systems fail. He understands that the patient-doctor relationship is the most important part of the healthcare process. When the federal government intervenes in this relationship, health care prices go up and quality goes down.

    Do some research. Go to his website, go to YouTube, listen to and read what he has to say. He is an expert in this area; you are not.

  4. 4
    Ron Chusid says:

    “He is an expert in this area; you are not.”

    Actually, I am.

  5. 5
    Earl says:

    One thing all of these guys have in common is a view on the health care system. But none of them really have a CLEAR outline and execution. Though,there WILL be a shortage of Dr’s in the coming years if they face these Medicare pay cuts and that can be put up there with all the elderly people on fixed incomes paying increasing premiums. This all happens while the major insurance companies sit back and collect everyone’s money. Who has a plan to change all of THAT?! This is why AARP has set up http://www.thisissoridiculous.com so that we can all sign a petition to make our voice heard. While your there you can also read updated news, watch videos, and even e-mail your congressman to let him know how you feel. I’m working to help AARP promote better Medicare because this is an important issue that isn’t getting enough attention.

  6. 8
    J.Graves says:

    Dr. Chusid, Didn’t the 1974 ERISA law grant tax benefits to employers, but not to individuals? Didn’t this make insurance providers cater to companies, and not individuals. After a few decades of HMO’s being in bed with corporations and the government, which direction has the cost of health care artificially went? (think $30 dollar band-aids at the emergency room)
    Dr. Paul wants our medical bills to be tax deductible! It wasn’t until a few decades ago that everyone needed all of this expensive healthcare coverage. Government officials will gladly take our money and spend it on our behalf, whether we’re 9 trillion in debt or not. They’ll just borrow the money on our behalf, put more money in circulation and cause more inflation. That really helps pay my medical bills.

  7. 9
    Ron Chusid says:

    That’s quite an oversimplification. Actually the connection between employers and insurance benefits came well before 1974. Making insurance tax deductible for individuals as opposed to only employers would be beneficial, but this will only have marginal impact.

    “It wasn’t until a few decades ago that everyone needed all of this expensive healthcare coverage.”

    Before we had modern health care and modern technology health care didn’t cost much. One of the consequences of modern health care is that it costs more than most people can afford out of their pocket at the time the need arises, creating the need for insurance coverage.

  8. 10
    J.Graves says:

    If you caught the last Repugnacan Debate, Dr. Paul said that a lot of health care price increase also comes from ordinary inflation caused by oversupply of money. (ordinary people are not getting much of the surplus borrowing and printing). Our government borrows money on our behalf and that causes inflation. We have $59 trillion dollars worth of unfunded (promised) debt. We are big importers, and other countries are saying they’ve had enough of our paper money. We are the most in-debt nation in the world many times over, and it kills our dollar. It’s not the only factor. Our FDA lets drugs on the market that have more side effects than benefits, and lets the drug companies run glossy adds on every ailment.Vioxx, beta-blockers, food additives, anti-depressents, and on and on. Hospitals can make a set amount of money if the keep you a set amount of time. Big pharma rewards doctors for over-prescribing. & how do we explain $30 dollar band-aids? I know half of my income goes to taxes. The consumer of a product gets every tax a company pays added into the products they buy. Sales tax, income tax, social security,property tax, state, local, fines, fees, permits…. If I could have some more of the money I earn, healthcare wouldn’t be as painful. The point is, Dr. Paul isn’t the problem. He understands complex problems and makes the right call on issues more than other politicos. (i.e. get UBL, don’t occupy,)
    —This article you refer to wasn’t even written by him. All candidates have supporters like this. Look at Hillary’s oppressive, murderous Chinese buddies, or W’s lackey..not enough room for that one. How about less time on this type o’ stuff.

  9. 11
    Ron Chusid says:

    That’s a pack of nonsense. If this is what Paul has to say itl just shows how clueless Paul is about health care.

    In one of the surveys of candidate positions I posted here recently, the candidates were also asked about their advisers. Paul’s answer is that he didn’t hire advisers in the areas questioned. This repeatedly shows.

    You can’t hope to formulate meaningful answers on contemporary problems by simply citing 19th century economic theories. Paul, and his supporters, are going nowhere as long as you all remain so out of touch with reality.

  10. 12
    J.Graves says:

    Inflation doesn’t exist in healthcare? You have no idea why there is inflation. You are out of touch with the reality of peoples grocery, fuel, clothing and housing bills going up like mad every day. The government takes excessive taxes from us, run their massive overhead, and let trickle down economics filter money for healthcare through mega corporations that spend billions lobbying congress all the way down to us. What a grand idea. You probably have a liberal arts degree in communist oppression. Economic theories don’t age and expire like milk, unless your a fan of new math. Look at it high level and ask yourself were all this money comes from. If the answer is printing presses and fractional lending, your hopeless until further educated.

  11. 13
    J.Graves says:

    sorry, I regret my statements because of their angry tone. I said some mean things. tensions can flare when it affects one personally. I’m not a healthcare expert, I just know inflation is undeniablely a factor in healthcare costs. Do you know why there is inflation?

  12. 14
    Ron Chusid says:

    This is all just a way to avoid the real issues, and in the process demonstrates that Paul’s views are out of touch with reality. Economic theories don’t age as milk does, but ideas can be improved upon and need to be tested against reality. Paul ignores reality where it conflicts with his economic theories. Note that even when an objectivist such as Allan Greenspan had responsibility for policy he didn’t stick to a kneejerk following of Austrian economic theories. Are you now going to call Greenspan a Communist.

    The economy is more complex than it was in the 19th century, and Paul’s ideas don’t always apply. Modern health care poses challenges which weren’t around in von Mises’ day and which his economic theories do not explain. It doesn’t work for Paul to brag about not having any economic advisers and then stick to economic theories which were never written with the modern world in mind.

    Attributing the problem with health care costs to inflation just avoids the issue. Sure, inflation plays a part, but it does in everything. Saying it wouldn’t matter if you kept more of your income in taxes is no answer. What is significant about health care is that the cost has greatly exceeded inflation. This is for many reasons, but the most important are the increased technology.

    Similarly you evade the problem with nonsense claims such as those on drugs having more side effects than benefits and big pharma rewarding doctors for over-prescribing (which would be illegal).

    The problem is that Paul’s ideas are out of touch with reality. He is unable to deal with real world problems and therefore falls back on blaming inflation, or taxes, or perhaps next he’ll blame the Trilateral Commission.

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