I haven't weighed in on the Health Reform debate too much...for a number of reasons.
I definitely believe that our system needs to be reformed. #37 in the world ranking for health care is simply unacceptable.
I am NOT in favor of one mega-bill that is going to fix all of our health care problems and can't understand why the "smart" people think that this is the best way to address the problem. (Perhaps it is because they see "problem" when, in fact, they should see many "problems")
I think that several smaller bills, each focused on one area the system, would be easier to write, read, pass and enforce.
I think that Americans, in general, need to change our attitudes toward good health. We need to look to more healthy lifestyles and preventative care rather than looking to the medical/pharmaceutical industry to fix us once we've messed up our own bodies by our poor living habits. I know that you can't put that into a bill, but maybe some incentives to live healthier lives could find a way into a reform bill.
I read this CNN News article the other day and find that 45,000 deaths in the USA that are contributed to people not having insurance and fearing the huge medical bills is appalling.
I cringe when I hear people suggest that decent health care is a privilege and not a right. Apparently, some people think that you should have wealth, status or make some contribution to society before you deserve health care. (funny that they are often the same people that fear the non-existent "death panels" that would determine your worth to society)
I wish I knew the answer. I wish that Congress knew the answer. The one thing that I think we all know is that there has to be some change. It really is time to set aside the politics and work towards a solution. People should not have to choose between bankruptcy and medical attention.
Sorry for the rant...
John <><
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3 comments:
First off, thanks for the rant.
And thanks for putting the 'contribution to society' and 'death panel' thought together to point out the contradiction. It's funny how many "facts" are out there that contradict each other but don't get noticed.
Wv: fryped - A very small motorcycle.
No need to apologize! I would not be in ministry today if I had refused to acknowledge that everyone is a child of God and has a right to live. Sure, most of my patients are uninsured or on Medicare or Medicaid. So keeping them out of hospitals would lessen the chances of me remaining employed. I have a vested interest in them coming to my workplace for care. I realize many of them are working the system. Their "street smarts" are their greatest assets, and pretty much all they have. The rest of us have health insurance or enough money to pay as we go to the hospital. As long as we divide this nation into the haves and have nots, we will never know how many among us have the courage, guts, and skill to overcome poverty. The conditions that allowed our parents and grandparents don't exist anymore because the middle class is disappearing. When we don't share resources, we are beyond jealous of others. We are envious--we don't like it that someone else has more than we have. This is supposed to grease the wheels of capitalism and make us all strive harder. But all it does is make things uglier. The greedy take over, wanting all they already have PLUS what anybody else has--and that tips us over the cliff into being evil. Keep speaking out, John. Your prophetic voice is needed!
Why are you apologizing for the rant? It's not like I haven't paved the ranting way for you. I'm not sure I agree with the idea of health care as a "right" (which I interpret in a constitutional sense)...I think it's something so basic and so obvious that I don't understand why we are arguing about it. I don't have a fully fleshed-out solution (like I do for illegal immigration), but I DO know that we need to get a handle on this problem quickly.
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