Such research is, ideally, a good idea. Generally, the more information you have the better.

But keep in mind that government studies have the potential for tying strings on the scientists as much as privately-funded ones.

There is a huge incentive for a pharmaceutical company's study to show that their new drug or treatment works. There's hundreds of millions at stake. On the other hand, there's a huge incentive for a government-run study under a government-paid health system to show that an expensive treatment doesn't really work. The latter might also be true for a study funded by health insurance companies. Again, there's hundreds of millions at stake.

EVERYBODY has an axe to grind, and negotiating your way through the reefs to find the actual facts is a bitch. In the end the final factor really is: does a treatment or drug work for YOU? Ideally, you work that out with your doctor, or anyone else you trust with your care.

With that in mind, we need as much information and free choice as possible. I don't have easy answers, but I think we should err in favor of less centralization and less monopolization of health care.