Actor Jon Voight, speaking at a rally of Americans opposed to President Obama's planned health ‘reforms', has condemned socialised healthcare. I believe he is quite correct in his denunciation of the health systems that operate in countries such as Canada and New Zealand.

While attempting to provide universal cover to entire populations regardless of individual ability to pay, such systems undermine choice and provide rationed care, with no guarantee of timely treatment. Unfortunately, lots of people end up dying needlessly on public hospital waiting lists.
In socialised health care, with funding collected through taxation, a person cannot withdraw from the government scheme. There is no portability in the system. People are locked in, even if there are alternatives out there that better suit them and their families.
I believe New Zealanders should be able to use their own money to purchase health insurance, or contribute to health plans based around voluntary cooperatives such as iwi groups, trade unions and incorporated societies.
There should be no facility whereby Kiwis can help themselves to other peoples' money to treat conditions often brought on by poor lifestyle choices. This is unjust, and provides disincentive for people to take ownership of their health problems.
Healthcare need not be expensive if insurance cover for unexpected and catastrophic illness could be purchased by way of a tax break for all income earners, and people could nominate what level of surcharge they were prepared to pay for their care.
Just as not all of us can afford to drive a Rolls-Royce, not all of us can afford premium quality healthcare. If we accept that, then there is motivation for people to work harder and reprioritise their spending so they can more easily afford a higher level of care.
Healthcare is not a gift from heaven; it is a service provided by skilled professionals and support workers who have often made sacrifices to spend years in training, and who expect an income commensurate with the service they provide.
There is no innate right to receive subsidised healthcare, for this would have to be paid for by someone else who is given no choice in the matter. A right to healthcare enslaves doctors, nurses and others in the health industry. It is incompatible with the capitalist system of limited government, voluntary interaction, free trade and protection of individual rights.
I applaud the response to Mr Voight's comments by Sir Roger Douglas. As he suggests, in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, vast and increasing amounts of money have poured into the public health infrastructure with the aim of increasing affordability, reducing waste and increasing the quality and quantity of services. The diminishing returns on this investment are symptomatic of the failure of all socialist economies to allocate resources efficiently and justly through flexible pricing structures.
Instead of imposing a new version of socialised healthcare upon the people of New Zealand, the government should leave us free to organise healthcare for ourselves and our families. This would, for many, involve spreading financial risk by forming large co-operative groups or enrolling with insurers, so that catastrophic health situations can be managed.
The critical difference between this and the current system of taxpayer-funded public hospitals and subsidised primary care is that individuals can opt out when the service is unsatisfactory and take their money elsewhere.
Socialised medicine is a form of enslavement where people lose control of how their money is spent and where health providers are so over-regulated that they become trapped, with private alternatives to the government-run system made near-impossible.
Control of healthcare should be devolved gradually from politicians back to individuals, families and iwi, in tandem with massive tax cuts – which, after all, would amount to giving people back their own money.
Current Health Minister Tony Ryall promised less of the ‘Nanny State' in his campaign speeches last year. It's time he delivered.