Re: Hundreds of firms interested in ambulance licences, Flash News, August 5, 2005
[People] should remember that the privatization of social services has never worked and never will. While I agree that all aspects of healthcare must be transparent, accountable and effective, there is no room for privatization when it comes to health and human suffering.
The privatization of Emergency Medical Services introduces the camel's nose of "profit" into the tent. I ask this simple question: Have the lives and well-being of medically uninsured Americans been improved by the profit motive?
The answer is a resounding "no". Americans without health insurance must face a catastrophic illness and financial ruin simultaneously. If the Slovak Republic privatizes EMS transport, will those with money in hand get faster (and perhaps life-saving) service than those without? Will a penniless Roma be transported to hospital as quickly as a rich banker or powerful politician?
Competition is wondrous and carries multiple benefits in business and finance. But it has no place when it comes to the saving of lives, which is what EMS is all about.
Slovakchik,
Toronto, Canada
