fore: #264 SixDegrees

You can be pretty much assured that coverage for alternative treatments, like aromatherapy, and even quack medicine, will be provided in the future. Because people will demand such coverage. And once the government is in charge of health care, decisions about what ought to be covered will be based on political reasoning, rather than medical reasoning. Politicians will be only too happy to extend coverage to include herbal remedies, color therapy and homeopathic “medicine” in exchange for votes. Homeopathy, quite possibly the most moronic claim ever put forward, has already enjoyed support in the Senate. Look for claims that vaccinations are dangerous and shouldn’t be covered, demands for colloidal silver treatments and a host of other quackery to rapidly gain support from politicians who are utterly ignorant of medicine, yet eager for political gain.

How is government going to be ‘in charge’ of health care? I’m pretty damn sure that Medicaid is not going to be covering aromatherapy in the near future, they won’t even cover acupuncture.