Daily Wire Editor-In-Chief Ben Shapiro has repeatedly stated that health care has three primary characteristics: affordability, universality, and quality. It’s been shown time and again, in both theory and real life application, that all three characteristics cannot be found in a health care system at the same time. Two of these qualities can mutually exist in a given system, but the third, necessarily, falls by the wayside. The latest empirical evidence supporting this theory comes from the National Health Service (NHS) in England, which announced that smokers and the obese will be denied most surgeries until the patient’s lifestyle meets NHS standards.
According to The Telegraph, “In recent years, a number of areas have introduced delays for such patients — with some told operations will be put back for months, during which time they are expected to try to lose weight or stop smoking.” To make sure patients are truthful about smoking in their medical disclosures, doctors in the U.K. will now breathalyze those who require medical procedures, and smoker patients won’t be granted a referral for surgery unless “the circumstances are exceptional.” What exactly “exceptional” means remains rather murky.
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