Fox News Solves Healthcare Debate: Go To Your Vet

C•ntservatives are fond of repeating their ludicrous mantras. One tired favorite is the "America has the best healthcare system in the world" BS. In his book "See, I Told You So", Chairman Limp-baugh boldly claimed that US healthcare is "the envy of the world".

But Limp-baugh seems blissfully unaware of awkward facts like " only 2 percent of all Canadians believe that the U.S. has a better health care system than their own". Some envy. But why let inconvenient truth stand in the way of politically useful bullsh*ttery?

American healthcare languishes pitifully low at 37th on the World Health Organization rankings list. But, to be fair, emergency care does rate highly for those who can afford its crippling cost:

The fact is that America does not have the finest health care system in the world; it has the finest emergency care system in the world. Highly trained American doctors can summon Star Wars-type technology in saving patients who have become seriously injured or critically ill. But as far as preventative medicine goes, the U.S. is still in the Stone Age.

Of course, saying our ER care is the best in the world means you need to adopt a weird suspension of disbelief and accept that it's OK to charge up to $3,000 for a CAT scan that costs a couple of hundred bucks anywhere else in the world. You also need to forget about all those families going bankrupt and hospitals passing gigantic bills to the taxpayer for reimbursement once the patient is bled thoroughly dry. But I digress...

Now Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' come up with a great new idea for healthcare reform - go to your vet:

Veterinary oncologist Karen Oberthaler... says modeling treatment for humans after veterinary clinics could reduce the use of wasteful and often unnecessary tests.

"A very brilliant veterinary oncologist has a suggestion. She says we should treat people like they treat their dogs," guest host Dari Alexander said.

"Which makes a lot of sense," host Steve Doocy responded.

The saddest part of the whole segment? When Oberthaler said her second most frequently asked question as a veterinarian was "Do you think I could be treated in this hospital?"

Our healthcare system "the envy of the world"? If only the rest of the world knew about our vets...