I just finished participating in Kevin McCarthy’s bi-weekly blogger conference call. This week’s call focused mostly on health care, with some focus going towards the war supplemental that’s morphed into another porkfest opportunity.

I had the first question. I asked whether these gentlemen would agree with my characterization that single-payer is a “race to the bottom”. Jack Kingston cited two startling comparisons on cancer survival rates.

The survival rate for breast cancer in the United States is 84%; in Britain, it’s 69%.

The survival rate for prostate cancer in the United States is 92%; it’s only 51% in Great Britain.

That last statistic was a jaw-dropper for me. Think of the difference between 9 men in 10 surviving in the United States vs. 1 in 2 men dying of prostate cancer in the UK.

Does anyone think that the American people would settle for the Democrats’ plan if they knew these statistics? Not a chance.

Rep. Kingston said that that disparity didn’t just pertain to cancer survival rates, either. He said that that disparity applied to almost ever life-threatening disease.

Later, in the next round of questioning, I highlighted the AMSA study that I cite so often. I cited the part that says that, while single-payer is good at providing perscription medication to more people, it’s also true that AMSA’s own study said that “the corresponding drop in revenue for pharmaceutical companies could lead to a reduction in overall research and development, slowing down technological advancement.”

Rep. Kingston said that he’d be interested in the study. I’ve already forwarded it to Nick Bouknight, who will in turn forward it to Rep. Kingston.

The reality is that President Obama’s health care plan is dying. The more people understand it, the more people that vehemently oppose it. Let’s remember that President Obama was booed yesterday at the AMA convention:

Barack Obama isn’t used to hearing boos.

For all the young president’s popularity, the response he got Monday from doctors at an American Medical Association meeting was a sign his road is only going to get rockier as he tries to sell his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

The boos erupted when Obama told the doctors in Chicago he wouldn’t try to help them win their top legislative priority — limits on jury damages in medical malpractice cases.

Let’s also remember that statistics matter. The statistics I’m focusing on right now is the CBO statistics that say ObamaCare would cost an additional $1T and would only drop the uninsured from 46,000,000 to 30,000,000.

Technorati: Reform, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Kingston, Tom Price, Health Care, cancer Survival, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, AMA Convention, President Obama, Race To The Bottom, ObamaCare

Cross-posted at California Conservative