Blue Crab Boulevard

And There It Is

The "conservatives" in Britain are now openly considering a policy that would deny health care to those who make "unhealthy" lifestyle choices. This is the dark side of socialized medicine.

Patients who refuse to change their unhealthy lifestyles should not be treated by the NHS, the Conservatives said today.

In a bid to ease spiralling levels of obesity and other health concerns, a Tory panel said certain treatments should be denied to patients who refuse to co-operate with health professionals and live healthier lifestyles.

And those who do manage to improve their general health by losing weight and quitting smoking, for example, would receive "Health Miles" cards.

Points earned could then be used to pay for health-related products such as gym membership and fresh vegetables.

The aim is a shift in the NHS towards preventing disease and ill-health rather than having to treat it.

The proposal was one of a raft of measures suggested in a review of public services, ordered by David Cameron.

The 200-page study, entitled Restoring Pride in Our Public Services, was carried out by the Conservative public services improvement policy group's review co-chaired by former health secretary Stephen Dorrell and leading educationalist Baroness Perry.

"It is inconsistent with the concept of the responsible citizen to imagine that it is realistic for citizens, having paid their taxes, to expect that the state will underwrite the health implications of any lifestyle decision they choose to make," the report states.

This is the logical extension of John Edward's proposal to make "preventative" care mandatory - presumably under threat of legal actions. Like taking away your health care. Its funny how people who demand government stay out of the bedroom are seriously arguing that government should be given ultimate control over your body itself. This is authoritarianism of the worst kind. The state asserts its right to control you and your behavior if you want "free" health care.

Free health care will only cost you your freedom.

UPDATE: Others: Gina Cobb: You work hard, take care of your health, and save the system thousands of dollars a year and you get . . . a coupon for turnips. Nice.

McQ: Health Miles cards. How, well, infantile. Why not put a gold star up on the "chores" poster each day instead?

A Blog for All: It's one thing for an insurer to offer incentives to their customers to improve their lifestyles and promote healthier living. It's quite another to punish those who can't comply with such plans by cutting their health care services.

Ann Althouse: I'm picturing a whole weird future where we trade in government-granted points.

Professor Bainbridge: Anywhow, I hope for the sake of my British friends that Health Miles work a heck of lot better than frequent flyer programs.

The Astute Bloggers: THIS EFFORT BY CAMERON IS REALLY JUST ABOUT AN ELITE FOISTING THEIR VALUES ON THE MASSES - "FOR THE COMMON GOOD" OF COURSE.

Dust my Broom: Smoking is healthier than fascism. (Funny poster).

Cato-at-Liberty: Sometimes politics is beyond parody.

A Tangled Web: I hate the Nanny State and Cameron is a bigger Nanny than even Labour!

Bad Ideas, Medicine, World news | Gaius Tuesday, 4 September , 2007

By Anthony (Los Angeles), Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 1:01 pm

If Mr. Cameron is so concerned about taxpayers supporting “unhealthy lifestyles,” does the Conservative Party therefore support withholding medical treatment from gays who contract AIDS from unprotected sex? From drug users who get hepatitis? I dare say he’d have a hard time getting his program through Parliament. But then, the obese represent an easy group to target, and I doubt he’s thought through the logic of his proposals.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 1:19 pm

Being denied treatment under socialized medicine for politically incorrect lifestyles is something we have seen coming for sometime, and it will come to pass sooner or later. The fact that the Tories are proposing this is indicative of how far gone the UK is. Commenter Anthony makes an interesting point, but the key phrase here is ‘politically correct lifestyle’. Obesity and smoking are not PC. STDs, drug and alchohol abuse would likely be OK. Political correctness has nothing to do with logic or fairness.
By Cernig, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 2:27 pm

Hi Gaius,

The UK Tory’s would still allow these unhealthy lifestylers to buy their own treatment in Britian’s healthy private medical market. I’m surprised you and other conservative pundits aren’t all in favor of ending the nanny-stating of those who, by their own bad choices, create an undue burden on the state.

To call this idea “the dark side of socialized medicine” is to ignore entirely the ideological roots of the thing. I’ve noticed there’s been a trickle-down meme in US conservative circles to paint the UK Tory party as “not really conservative”. It began about the same time as the UK Tory party announced its opposition to the Iraq occupation. Coincidence, that is.

I think it’s a dumb idea too BTW - but for exactly the opposite reasons you do. Because it isn’t anything to do with any concept of socialized medicine.

Regards, C

(Oh, and Captain Ed got it wrong on Edward’s plan too)
By Gaius, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 2:40 pm

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The Tories have been intentionally moving to the left of Labor on a number of issues hoping to pry some seats loose, Cernig. I'm surprised you don't know that.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/04/ntory104.xml
By syn, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 3:14 pm

Cernig

You sound like my father until he died of heart related issues from dealing with stage four terminal lung cancer (he didn’t smoke, had bi-annual physicals, daily exercise and meditation, kept his weight a little below normal, ate the correct ‘healthy foods, moderate wine drinker, and often mocked those smokers and fat people for their ‘unhealthly’ lifestyles. At age 69, he was diagnosed with stage four terminal lung cancer and three months after diagnosis just two months short of his 70th birthday he died.

He made all these ‘healthy lifestyle’ choices yet became ill anyway. What was hardest for him to contend with was not the disease itself but how could this have happened to him despite all his years of ‘healthy’ living.

Weird things is my mom smoked (parents were divorced) never went to the doctor and lived six years longer than my father. When the time comes I hope I am as graceful in accepting my faith as she was in accepting hers.
By Cernig, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 3:54 pm

Hi Syn, I’m an overweight smoker

Gaius, I take anything the Torygraph says with a pinch of salt. Especially since a whole bunch of the Daily Mail’s tabloid types were brought in by the Fuedal Twins. The Sunday Telegraph’s editor quit yesterday.

For UK conservative reaction to Ancrum’s essay and the Torygraph’s hard-right spin on it, see here: http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2007/09/tory-reaction-forces-clarification-from.html

Ancrum’s already back-pedalling.

The BBC also reports a backlash on Ancrum from other Tory grandees:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6978336.stm
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6977396.stm

Regards, C

P.S. Mind you, what does that have to do with the meat of my argument above? Gauis, did you just try a strawman on me?
By it)reliapundit, Tuesday, 4 September , 2007 @ 5:19 pm

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(Edit)

ANYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED CAMERON KNOWS HE'S MOVED TO THE LEFT.

(edit) HE'S AN AGW (edit).

Comment policy, please.
By FedUp, Wednesday, 5 September , 2007 @ 8:09 am

Hey! This could work… if we could use the Health Miles to pay our taxes… just a thought…