There’s an article up on the BBC which actually made me feel lightly ill.

It’s about winning the lottery in Oregon.

The healthcare lottery, that is. Apparently Oregon has decided to address the issue of healthcare for low income individuals by creating a lottery system, with lucky winners who receive healthcare. The losers, apparently, buy tickets…er…apply…again next month. The timing of this article is especially interesting to me because I’ve just been thinking (again) about the need for universal single-payer healthcare.

The thought that people should get healthcare coverage through a lottery system is just obscene, and I’m sure that European readers must find the article a bit perplexing. There are a lot of misconceptions about the American healthcare system in Europe, and articles like this only cement those misconceptions, while also pointing out the serious problems with America’s approach to healthcare.

The thing about universal single-payer healthcare is that it’s just straight up cheaper to run than this asinine system we have going now. By covering everyone, the government would encourage a culture of preventative care, and it could negotiate better costs with drug companies and healthcare providers. In many parts of Europe, doctors make quite respectable salaries, and they get bonuses for keeping their patients healthier, in a system which encourages a strong relationship between patients and doctors while promoting a generally higher standard of health. Meanwhile, Europeans in general appear healthier than Americans, accounting for less missed days of work and creating a more vibrant, productive society. The EU, my friends, is kicking our butts.

I’ve read several critiques by American doctors who find the thought of universal single-payer repugnant, arguing that it is nothing more than rank socialism. And it is, but that’s the beauty of it. Socialized medicine is vastly better than entering a lottery in the hopes that you can get healthcare coverage. It’s better than a system where people overload emergency rooms with petty complaints because they don’t have regular doctors. It’s better than a system where scads of independent contractors (like me) gamble that they won’t have major health problems, because they can’t afford health insurance. I hear Clinton wants to cap health insurance costs at 10% of people’s incomes. That would be great, if I could spare 10% of my income for health costs. But I can’t, and neither can most middle and lower class Americans.

A lot of Americans don’t seem to understand that the healthcare system is broken, yet fixable, with some effort. I can’t help but think that people are kept in deliberate ignorance in the hopes that insurance companies can continue to profit, because anyone with half a brain ought to be able to see that this system is not working. People should not be afraid to go to the doctor because they can’t afford it. They shouldn’t be afraid to embark on a course of medical treatment which might change their lives because they can’t afford it. People in this country should not be dying from lack of healthcare. It’s just not…well, honestly, it’s just not American, darnit. This is the country where people are supposed to be neighborly, looking out for each other and lending a hand where it’s needed, not a country where people let their teeth rot in their heads because they can’t afford a dentist. It shouldn’t be a country where people rely on games of chance for medical treatment.

Europeans get cradle to grave care, so clearly it’s not impossible…so why are we having such a hard time figuring our scene out?