Health care: Right or Privilege
In my opinion, health care is a basic right. However, in believing it is a right, I believe the government should not control or mandate people to have health coverage. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 47 million Americans do not have health insurance (2009). My question is, how many of those 47 million Americans want insurance? Some Americans without insurance are in college or young and working and prefer to keep their money rather than pay for insurance. Is it the government's job to force someone into purchasing insurance if they chose to keep their money rather than pay for insurance? America was created to allow people to make their own decisions. I know that our system is flawed. I see it every day when I have a patient that needs 24 hour supervision and isn't safe to discharge home by themselves and their entire family works and they cannot afford a nursing home and insurance won't cover it. It is frustrating, but I do not believe our government should force anything on us. If there was no longer competition in the health market, would we have as many great drugs (even with the high costs) and the treatments available all discovered through profit driven research? Again, I know the system if flawed, but maybe we should adjust the system rather than force a new one.
(2009, April 2). FASTSTATS- Health Insurance Coverage. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hinsure.htm
I agree with you that access to care is a basic right but for everyone, government included, the word ACCESS should be clarified - according to dictionary.com the word access means “to make contact with or gain access to; be able to reach, approach or enter”. I believe all citizens and legal residents should have equal access to purchase health insurance according to individual ability to pay but should not be required to purchase it. That being said, it is a fact that those who become ill but do not have insurance will be cared for in the public health care system and that care will be paid for by taxpayer dollars. This is the conundrum of our whole system as it exists today and as it will exist under the health care reform act. In the reformed healthcare system "penalties" that will be assessed for not having health insurance are considerably less than the cost of insurance for a year (http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8061.pdf). I believe many people will choose NOT to purchase insurance and will depend on the safety net of public assistance if they become sick. An essential key to solving this dilemma is health education and that education should be required in our school system, our health system and our public assistance system. If someone has TANF, Medicaid or section 8 housing assistance I believe they be required to attend health/nutrition education classes. TANF already requires parents to obtain required medical screenings for children and will even pay someone to drive them to the appointment or pay for their gas to use their own vehicle (http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/thsteps/clients.shtm). I believe comprehensive health education should be a part of this process. We should also include comprehensive health education in the schools beginning in kindergarten. Unfortunately the limited health education and PE requirements in our public schools have been eliminated in favor of more math, science and technology (http://thefeministtexican.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/health-ed-requirement-axed-in-texas-public-schools/). Resources are available but recipients should be educated in their use and be required to use them wisely and efficiently so that the funds are not wasted. I agree with your final statement – we should adjust and alter and build on the system that is already in place and not dump it for a new and even more expensive one.
ReplyDeleteHi Kerri!
ReplyDeleteI like the point you make about whether or not a person would want insurance or not. That would be a good starting point towards what a great solution could be. On the other hand, I am a student who is very active! If I get hurt, I need insurance or I am looking at a very large bill. In fact, it scares me to not have insurance because I know that a monthly payment is easier and safer than a huge payment at once. I also think we should be asking ourselves that out of how many people (of the 47 million) are actually citizens. I think before we jump into universal healthcare, we should take smaller steps towards preventing this many people without insurance. And a very important determinant is getting the correct data, more specific data, to start making a change. I really dont know anyone who would say they dont want insurance. But I agree that insurance should not be forced onto someone.
Dear Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI too agree that healthcare is a right that every individual is entitled to. I find it interesting that you feel that the government should not mandate health care to every individual. I know that not everyone wants to pay or can afford health insurance but don’t you think that maybe our government could come up with a way that everyone can afford health care? Many people who may not have healthcare in large part may not want it because they cannot afford it but what if the government made it feasible for every individual to access health care? Would your views change at all? I definitely admire your opinions and think that you have some great points. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
Brittany LeBron
Thank you everyone for you comments! I loved reading them! Brittany, my opinion in simply if we require or force our citizens to do something (other than pay taxes) are we truly a free country? Isn't that just the first step in becoming the country we are fighting to help other countries move away from? We are fighting wars to help other countries become democracies and vote and be free people, then we are forcing our own citizens to participate in government insurance they may not want. That is not freedom. However, I do agree with you if we had a more affordable system, more people would be willing to pay lower costs. That is what our free-market system is set up to provided. For me personally working in the therapy world, I know how the government limits the amount of therapy money Medicare and Medicad patients have to spend and it isn't much. If everyone was this limited it would affect my job.
ReplyDelete