Single-Payer, Multi-Waiter

With Hillary Clinton a sure thing to run for President, it’s a very safe bet that we’ll be hearing plenty of calls in 2008 for socialized medicine, except it’ll be euphemized as “single payer” government health insurance. Check out this story from the UK on how well that’s working out for the Brits:

Hospitals across the country are imposing minimum waiting times – delaying the treatment of thousands of patients.

After years of Government targets pushing them to cut waiting lists, staff are now being warned against “over-performing” by treating patients too quickly. The Sunday Telegraph has learned that at least six trusts have imposed the minimum times.

In March, Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, offered her apparent blessing for the minimum waiting times by announcing they would be “appropriate” in some cases. Amid fears about