I have been listening to the commentary on health care. The bottom line is that the system we have in place is too expensive and not everyone is covered.
I would suggest the following: 1) Accept the moral imperative that ALL people deserve health care as a right. Fortunately, this appears to be the accepted norm of the Administration. However, whether the insurance companies agree, particularly when a person cannot afford health care, is a bothersome issue. There is too much of "You can play if you pay". This is where the "Third Option" of public care is necessary. Public care will fill the gaps for the uninsured. Yes, it should be cheaper than regular care because it will include who cannot afford a standard insurance company policy. Competition with the private firms? Absolutely.
This leads to the second solution: 2) Tell the private companies that the government cannot afford putting as much coverage into its budget as now exists, that the amount must be cut in half, that the people will not tolerate more taxes. Put together a task force to deal with this challenge; a task force that would include the insurance companies, doctors, union folks, federal officials, single pay supporters, and .... Their task is to figure a way to half health care costs. Yes, there may be less profit for some, but we must think of ALL. We have only so much money available. We need to learn to live within a budget.
There is a third alternative: 3) Increase taxes to cover ALL people! This may mean that people will have to learn to live on less, purchase less extraneous stuff. Personally, I would not mind paying more taxes knowing that ALL people would receive adequate health care. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. We need to do what we need to do! Sacrifice for the sake of the other. It could even mean that the military would not receive its newest "toy" as soon as it would like!
Just some ideas!
Peace!
Ron
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It's hard for me to understand the attitude that one person deserves health coverage while another person does not. What an arrogant stance. So I agree with you, Ron, we need to start at square one with the attitude that everyone deserves affordable access to health care. Once that mind shift is achieved, I believe solutions will readily follow.
ReplyDeleteGraciela
I suggest a fourth option that could help make the health care equation easier to solve. Let's take responsibility for our health. Most health issues are preventable by improving eating habits and getting regular exercise. What if that was the first thing we tried when our blood pressure started rising or our cholesterol became high? What if we didn't wait until we were 50 pounds overweight to tackle the problem?
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people have special excuses. Many people say "My case is different, I need..." add your favorite expensive invasive surgery. We LOVE our ailments and the costly medical care we are given (if we have insurance). In her book "Why people don't heal (and how they can)" Caroline Myss tells of a woman who stood up and demanded "What would we talk about?!!" if they gave it up. Why is it that how great we feel and how great is God's love for us such a tiresome topic?
We need medical doctors and insurance to mend our broken bones and sew up our cuts. We need a different sort of doctor to help us find joy in life, to help us see that we are beautiful with out surgery, that we can be strong if we only use our muscles. That person has been displaced by doctors in current times. I am not sure, but I think that role used to be filled by family and friends. The government won't be able to fill that need for us. We have to do it for eachother.
Michelle
Michelle makes some good points relevant to social problems that pertain to health care. Truly we need more people taking more responsibility for their health. Still, I very much support the concept of universal health care. Hopefully we will be seeing major movement towards realizing that goal in this country. Personally I would like to see much less military spending by governments with the savings diverted to programs such as health care. Slowly we each contribute to the creation of a kinder and gentler world.
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