Friday, June 5, 2009

health care that really works?

I just watched an interestng movie. Sicko by Michael Moore about universal health care systems. As a graduate of college and currently unemployed I thank my lucky Divinely given stars that I am still eligible to be under my father's health insurance. At least until I get a job. This was one of the numerous things that plagued my waking hours while in my last year of college. My mother kept telling me I HAD to have health insurance. Of course, I knew this because I have 4 medications that I am currently on. 3 of which I take on a daily basis. But how was I going to pay for health insurance??? I didn't (and still don't) have a job I have to go to on a daily basis. My boy doesn't have health insurance and it is more or less understood if he gets sick enough that he must go to a hospital hes pretty much dead at this point, because there is no way he could pay for it himself.

Think about it. Really think. How nice would it be to walk into any hospital and get the care you need? Any tests or treatments a doctor thinks would benefit you, wouldn't that be nice? Yes, eventually you do pay for it. Its not really free. It is part of the tax money you pay every year.

We Americans have this intense dislike of parting with our money, even if it is to pave the roads we drive on and pay the cops, firefighters, and teachers we would very much like to keep around. I will admit I am guilty of this too (and will try to remind myself of this post next February). But I honestly think that the biggest problem we have with universal health care paid for by our tax dollars is that we are paying to help others get better too. In our society we are taught to value the individual, our own self and to hell with everyone else. Now yes, I do like being my own person and all that jazz BUT we are a herd species just like the deer, horse, and dog. We live in villages and cities. It all boils down to community and lack of it in the United States and our need for instant gratification. We don't want to help those less fortunate we want to go buy the biggest baddest TV we can find for our own enjoyment. Too much instant gratification.

Me, I wouldn't mind spotting my fellow human a few bucks to help with thier health care. I am haunted by a day when I was out with my friends and a man, obviously in desperate need of help on a cold night to get his sick child home needed help with gas money. I knew that I had the most money in our little group. My under the table job had just paid me and I had money in my wallet. But I, a "poor" college student (I actually was worried about my finances all the time) refused to help him. I should have helped him. If we had a better system in place such a thing would never have needed to happen. True, there are too many people in this world but once they are here they deserve to live thier lives too the fullest

How many times have you heard someone trying to pass some law that would make health care affordable? Yes, things would have to be worked out, all the bugs worked out, but I think it is a very do-able system. My one fear would be that the government would be able to cut funding for it like it has with the police and firefighters and teachers which cause there to be fewer of them. Of all things why kill our infrastructure like that? But I digress. HIllary Clinton was working on universal health care for a time but in the end gave up on it because of the negative propaganda that was circulating.

Personally, I would love to have universal health care even with the increase in taxes.

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