One of the biggest problems in evaluating Hillary's health care plan is trying to determine which of her plans to believe. Hillary has at least two vastly different plans - the written plan and the one she and her husband describe in public. For example, should we believe the plan where she and her husband claim that we will be able to freely choose our doctors or the published plan which states that we could go to prison for up to ten years if we choose a doctor outside the alliance? Should we believe Hillary and her husband who claim that their plan would reduce the deficit or the Congressional Budget Office which shows that the plan would increase the deficit by more than $130 billion?

Both of Hillary's plans will destroy the greatest health care system in the world. Today, people from all over the world come to this country for quality health care, but that would end with the government takeover of our health care system. Consider the problems that exist with similar plans in other countries and would be created here:

Under the Clinton plan, every purchase of new equipment by health care providers will have to be approved by some faceless bureaucrat in Washington. That is what happens in Canada under their system. That is why there are more MRI scanners in the city of Philadelphia than in all of Canada. Today, in the state of New York, all new equipment purchases by hospitals and other care providers must be approved by some bureaucrat in Albany. Just imagine the increased costs of the paperwork required to justify new purchases and the government bureaucracy required to process all of those requests.

In Canada there is a limit to the amount of income a physician can earn in a year. Canadians can choose, to a limited degree, a physician so, naturally, they will choose the best one from their range of choices. Consequently, the best physicians will reach their yearly earnings cap first, maybe as early as September. In Canada, when a doctor reaches the earnings limit, he or she just lays off the staff, closes the office, and takes an extended vacation. In some cases, Canadian doctors spend their winter vacations in Florida earning extra money by treating those who live there in the winter. In many parts of Canada, during the last two or three months of the year, the only doctors left are the mediocre ones who have not yet reached their earnings cap. Canadians living in those areas had better not get sick in December. Hillary's plan has the same sort of earnings cap for physicians and other health care providers, so we can expect the same thing to happen here if her plan is implemented.

Hillary and her husband have claimed that, with their plan, health care can never be taken away. However, all over the world in countries with similar plans, health care is being taken away from the people through rationing and long waiting lines. In the December 13, 1993, issue of "National Review," John Goodman, president of the nonpartisan National Center for Policy Analysis, tells us that Canadians have six month waiting periods for CAT scans, 12 month waits for eye surgery, 16 month waits for MRI scans, and more than 12 month waits for a coronary bypass surgery. In Canada you stand a greater chance of dying while waiting for a heart operation than you do of dying on the operating table. Furthermore, in Canada, kidney dialysis is rationed such that it is unavailable to those over age 55. Of course, Canadian government officials never have to wait for medical care or have it rationed and we know that our government officials will enjoy the same privileges.

Consider the following hypothetical, but certainly plausible, sports news story (dated December 12, 1994) in Big Brother Bill's and Big Sister Hillary's era of government controlled health care (my thanks to Rush Limbaugh for the germ of an idea):

"KANSAS CITY (AP) - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Joe Montana, re-injured his back in Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. The extent of his injuries will not be known until a MRI scan can be conducted. The hospital has placed Montana's name on the MRI scan waiting list which currently 16 months long, so it will be April, 1996 before it can be determined if surgery will be required. The current waiting list for orthopedic surgery is six months long, so if surgery must be performed, the earliest it can take place is October, 1996. Since Montana is now 37 years old, he will be nearly 40 before any required surgery and rehabilitation can be completed. Consequently, it appears that Montana's illustrious career is over."

Even with the long waiting lines for medical services in Canada, an American living or visiting there can go to the front of the line if he or she is able to pay for services. The health care providers are so cash starved that they welcome paying customers with open arms and push them to the front of the lines.

In Canada, many veterinarians have arrangements with hospitals to use their CAT scanners after hours for their animal patients. Humans learned about the animals who were getting immediate CAT scans while they had to wait in pain for many months for a CAT scanner to become available. The Canadian government found out about the hospitals' black market and brought criminal charges against the veterinarians and the hospitals to stop it.

This means that Americans and animals in Canada have more rights than Canadian citizens.

Given the preceding, the follow-up story (dated December 15, 1994) about Joe Montana might look something like the following:

"KANSAS CITY (AP) - It appears that the career of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Joe Montana is not over after all.

The Kansas City Chiefs knew that many veterinarians in the Kansas City area were using hospital CAT scanners after hours for their animal patients. Shortly after Montana's back injury, the Chiefs contacted several veterinarians to ask them to use their connections with those hospitals to try to sneak Montana in after hours for an MRI scan to help diagnose the injury. Unfortunately, Hillary's newly constituted Health Care Police got wind of this activity and obtained a restraining order against the team, the veterinarians, and the hospitals.

After that setback, the Chiefs contacted a hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba about using their facilities to diagnose and treat Montana. Fortunately, since the Chiefs would pay cash for medical services and Canadian hospitals are starved for cash, Montana was pushed to the front of a 16-month-long waiting line for an MRI scan, so the team had him flown to Winnipeg. Montana's MRI scan showed a pinched nerve which could be treated with traction and medication. The hospital moved Montana to the front of a three-month-long queue for that type of treatment. Fortunately, Winnipeg's best orthopedic surgeon had just returned from his three month working vacation in Florida in time to evaluate Montana's condition.

The prognosis is that Montana will be in the hospital for about a week and should be able to return to action in time for the playoffs, should the Chiefs qualify."

Fortunately, Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs have the wherewithal to get special treatment. But what about the rest of us who will have to wait in long lines to get treatment or will find that the required treatment is rationed to those younger and healthier. We can't let Hillary and her husband destroy the best health care system in the world.