[quote=KSMountain]
Really? No services distributed? Who would pay the doctors? Who would set their salaries? Who would pay for the medical care? What would your medical card say? Those would all be *services* provided by the government. Like the VA, only bigger.

If I go in and get a knee replacement, isn’t that a “good distributed by the government”?

Hasn’t there also been talk of setting the prices for medications? Doesn’t that become control over “production” because the prices are not market-driven?

Under the public option the government would make huge purchases of medicines, equipment, etc. At some point say a few years from now, might some wise guy congressman (or president) say “Damn those fat cat pharma companies, let’s just make the drugs ourselves”?[/quote]

No, under the proposed (though unlikely to pass) public plans, as with Medicare and Medicaid, it is NOT, under any circumstances, a good or service being provided by the government. And not anything like the VA. The service is being provided by the doctor. The doctor is not employed by the government any more than they are currently employed by Aetna or Blue Cross. Salaries would not be set by the government any more than they are currently set by Aetna or Blue Cross.

And not like the VA, only bigger. The VA IS socialized medicine for the eligible population. The VA owns hospitals. The VA employs physicians, nurses, therapists and pharmacies.

And there is no mechanism under any proposed public option for the government to make huge purchases of medicines or equipment. I’ve read the bills. Maybe before coming to conclusions about their content, others should to.