Somebody: This is dogma talking, plain and simple. You don't need a socialist movement to achieve social democratic reforms. Look, for instance, at some of the more recent nations to achieve some type of universal health care, Taiwan in 1995 and Thailand in 2001. Neither of these countries had vibrant socialist parties when they instituted their reforms. You don't need Marx to achieve a welfare state.
In fact Thailand's health care scheme was instituted by the neoliberal Thaksin Shinawatra. And surprise: the poor in Thailand support Thaksin and have died in the streets in recent days to have free elections, largely in order to bring him back to power. Of course, since their movement isn't even remotely socialist, it hasn't garnered much attention among what remains of the Western left.