While I try not to cater to the paranoid or the those whose idle moments find them contemplating conspiracy after conspiracy, it does feel as though the opponents of health-insurance reform in this nation had written a handbook for use on the general population. One wonders, in a nation where one can lose one's house over health issues, be locked into a job he hates owing to benefits being unaffordable on the private market, see a sizeable amount of his nation's GDP used for a health-care system that provides worse results than those of other developed nations, was a method of indoctrination used and what would it look like?
1. Focus only on Canada and Britain. Get as many anecdotal stories as you can from people who have had bad experiences in these two nations. Completely ignore the fact that all rich, free nations have universal health-care systems. Ignore Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, etc. have universal health care, enjoy a high standard of living and are ranked high in every aspect of human development. Have a backup strategy in case someone starts to bring up the many anecdotal horror stories from the United States where medical mishaps do occur regularly.
2. The average American knows very little about the outside world, therefore it is important to stress that other nations have no freedom, are socialist, take away up to 80% of income in taxes and this is directly correlated with universal health care. Don't worry, he'll never bother looking up the facts in an almanac.
3. Keep repeating that "everyone comes here for health care" as though it were true. No one will bother to ask the actual number of people who come to the United States out of the entire populace of the developed world. Focus on the Shah of Iran back in 1979 or some other celebrity. Just make sure that the real number, which can be found in Forbes' Magazine, is never revealed.
4. Also exaggerate how many Canadians come down to the States for healthcare. Make it seem as though every other Canuck were running to the southern neighbor for life-saving surgery. Never give out the real number of Canadian citizens seeking healthcare in the United States, just keep repeating that "Canadians keep coming here for the health care." No one will bother to look up how many Canadian citizens actually come here.
5. Although we haven't done this yet, we need to be prepared in case someone asks, "how come we never see protests against universal health care in other rich nations and we never see demonstrations calling for its abolition and replacement with American-style healthcare?" What we'll do is get some archival footage of riots and demonstrations and just show that this is the rage engendered within a populace denied basic health care.
6. Keep repeating that the only reason those nations can afford health care is because Uncle Sam, out of pure benevolence, protects them with his military. Never let anyone ask, "protect from whom?" Never let out the facts about Canada's distinguished military history and her current role in Afghanistan, nor dare to bring up France and Britain's arsenal of nuclear weapons; never let anyone insinuate that since the end of the Cold War, those nations are maintaining what is a reasonable military budget, rather than a bloated one. Never let anyone ask if our ground forces are based around the world to protect nations or protect our strategic interests.
7. Keep repeating that all the nations with universal health care are taxed to death. Make sure that everyone believes that all the nations have the exact same tax rates as Germany and Sweden.
8. Hide surveys that show that the overwhelming majority of Canadians, British and others in the developed world would never want their system abolished.
9. Label as "socialist" any nation with UHC. Even though ludicrous in the case of Japan or Switzerland or Australia and several other free-market economies, just keep pressing forth with it. You will have everyone convinced that UHC leads to pure socialism in all cases.
10. Heighten awareness of how America does all the medical research for the world. Never let facts about innovations coming out of Canada, Britain, Israel, France or any other country get in the way. Also, switch subjects if anyone brings up the proportionality of developments to a nation's size/population. Remember, the outside world contributes virutally nothing to research and development. Keep repeating that until it sounds true.
11. Statistics be damned, claim that the UHC systems in all the developed nations of the world are teetering on bankruptcy. If you can find statistics for one nation, apply it towards all, e.g., if France is running a deficit, make it seem as though it applied to every developed nation on Earth and that the problem can never be resolved, except through adoption of the U.S. model!"
12. Make it seem as though every person without health insurance is either a lazy parasite or a reckless spendthrift. Remember, everyone can afford health insurance on the private market if he doesn't get it through his work, he's just spending it all on rims for his Escalade or a new stereo system. There are no working poor people who cling onto jobs with no benefits if it's the only thing they can find. Get the people to believe this.
13. Keep repeating to those without benefits, "just get a job," completely ignoring how many people do work full time and can't get benefits and in this depressed economy, will take anything that puts food on the table.
14. Keep emphasizing how every American already has access to healthcare at all times regardless of economic situation thanks to the Emergency Room. If anyone dares to bring up what an ER has to do with preventative medicine or how it's grossly inefficient to wait until the situation has deteriorated to such a point, change the subject.
15. Make an argument, however sophistic in nature, as to how "general welfare of the people," in no way applies to healthcare.
16. Emphasize that healthcare is a personal matter, not involving anyone else, so it's not your role to care about someone else's healthcare the way you would care about his sexuality, which is your business! Change subjects if someone brings up contagions, epidemics and a decreased workforce due to illness. Remember, it has nothing to do with you.
17. Make it sound as though it were extraordinarily easy to get on Medicaid or any form of state aid. Make it appear that anyone with a pre-existing condition can access it almost instantaneously, no difficulties involved whatsoever.
18. Disguise as much as possible how the average American is already paying for someone else's healthcare thanks to people waiting until the illness becomes critical and requires the intervention of an emergency staff. Treat preventative medicine as though it were a foreign novelty or rather a socialist novelty.
19. Use the argument that before you know it, we'll be paying for a new Mercedes for everyone and first-class air tickets, totally disregarding how healthcare is a necessity and cars, airline tickets, etc. are luxuries.
Remember, you are not, for the most part, dealing with people who are going to go out and buy an almanac or look up World Health Organization statistics at the local library, so it is very easy. The last thing we insurers need is competition from a public option, so these are the tactics we need to keep employing. They have worked so far and will most likely continue to work. Politicians who serve our needs are very easy to get. Just promote them as pro-life and pro-family and they will get voters.
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