Bush League Health Care, Redux

To recap, in the second debate Bush declared that Americans who use drugs imported from Canada are in mortal danger, and then, in the third debate, mentioned a plan to have Canada send down some flu vaccine to deal with the shortage that the American populace currently faces (which is causing a great deal of concern and some disgustingly predatory applications of the law of supply and demand).

I feel like exploring this area of absurdity a bit more. How did the world's superpower get into this situation? After all, its health care "system" is "the envy of the world" (seriously), and the only worry one could possibly have about it is keeping it a matter between citizens and their corporations, because,

Once a health-care program ends up in a line item in the federal government budget, it leads to more controls. (Dubya, third debate)

But, I wonder, could controls sometimes be a good thing? Like, with respect to supplies of vaccines, say.

The heart of the problem, experts say, may be that no one person or agency is in charge of making sure the United States has an adequate vaccine supply. (NYT, 04/10/17)

So, do you suppose Bush has a firm grasp of the nature of the problem, and potential solutions?

I think government- run health will lead to poor-quality health, will lead to rationing, will lead to less choice. (Dubya, third debate, again)

Uh oh. Doesn't sound promising. By rationing, I wonder if he meant this:

My call to our fellow Americans is if you're healthy, if you're younger, don't get a flu shot this year. Help us prioritize those who need to get the flu shot, the elderly and the young. The CDC, responsible for health in the United States, is setting those priorities and is allocating the flu vaccine accordingly. (Dubya, same debate)

Or:

Last week, elderly and chronically ill people waited in line for hours to get flu shots; some were turned away. (NYT, 04/10/17)

Sounds like rationing.

Oh well. Dubya, quick favour: Remind me, again, of the reason why American health-care is the "envy of the world"? (I should watch I don't abuse those scare quotes.)

Our health-care system is the envy of the world because we believe in making sure that the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in the nation's capital. (Dubya, same debate, again, last time, honest)

Oh, right. But I think you missed something there. Between doctors and patients (the people), on the one hand, and the government (which in a democracy should do the will of the people, but never mind that), on the other, there is at least one other influential decision-maker in America today.

Let's fill out one of the above quotes a bit more.

The heart of the problem, experts say, may be that no one person or agency is in charge of making sure the United States has an adequate vaccine supply. The production, sale and distribution of vaccines, particularly those for flu, are handled almost entirely by pharmaceutical companies. (NYT, 04/10/17)

Sh! Don't talk about those guys! They're shy, and don't like a lot of attention, by which I mean scrutiny.