Politicized Healthcare: In Japan 75 year old man Dies after 36 Hospitals Rejected Him

Here is an example of what happens when healthcare system have been politicized: In Japan a 75 year man died after 36 hospitals rejected him.

From the Time.com (bold mine)

The issue is becoming a matter of increasing concern for Japanese health care experts; the man from Kuki is not the first to die after being turned away by hospitals. According to the Huffington Post, a 69-year-old Japanese man died in 2009 of head injuries after 14 hospitals refused to treat him, citing similar reasons. In fact, a 2007 Japanese government report said as many as 14,000 emergency patients were rejected at least three times before getting treatment, noted the Huffington Post.

Ironically, experts say, part of the problem lies in Japan’s low-cost healthcare system. According to the Washington Post, a hospital visit costs half as much in Japan as it does in the U.S. thanks to government subsidies — but as a result, emergency rooms are often flooded with patients seeking routine treatments. Problematically, there are no laws punishing hospitals for turning away sick people or penalties for patients who overuse the system.

This is a case of basic economics: artificially suppressed prices (via subsidies) engenders huge demand. Such results to overcrowding, which in turn leads to the turning away of sick people that increases the incidences of unnecessary deaths.

More politics such as “no laws punishing hospitals” will not solve economic issues.

This also serves as another example of how politics kills the constituency they are supposed to protect.