An Ominous Sentence for Advocates of National Health Care

Note the second paragraph in this AP article about American life expectancy. Though I have been a lifelong advocate of some form of universal health coverage for Americans, I have a sneaking suspicion that once my health becomes "a major concern to American taxpayers", my freedom will be drastically curtailed - and having thought twice, I'll take a pass on the taxpayers' generosity, in advance, by not voting for candidates who favor national health insurance.

By MIKE STOBBE
Associated Press Writer
Dec 08 1:57 PM US/Eastern

ATLANTA - U.S. life expectancy has hit another all-time high _ 77.6 years _ and deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke continue to drop, the government reported Thursday. Still, the march of medical progress has taken a worrisome turn: Half of Americans in the 55-to-64 age group _ including the oldest of the baby boomers _ have high blood pressure, and two in five are obese. That means they are in worse shape in some respects than Americans born a decade earlier were when they were that age.

The health [that is, diet, exercise habits, alcohol and tobacco consumption, etc] of this large group of the near-elderly is of major concern to American taxpayers, because they are now becoming eligible for Medicare and Social Security. [emphasis added]