I was watching the debate (for about 2 seconds), and I heard Joe Lieberman talking about what a tragedy it is that "43 million Americans" are without health insurance, so I decided I had to write a bit about the subject. Since that figure is meaningless, and I haven't seen many people point that out, I thought I should do so...
The Imaginary Healthcare Crisis
News flash- health care isn't a God-given right to all Americans, and it isn't guaranteed in the US Constitution.
I'm so tired of hearing the democratic candidates (and other candidates at certain times) complain that "43 million Americans" are without health insurance. That figure means nothing. Not one thing. Every American, no matter what their age, sex, race, you name it- has access to, not only affordable healthcare, but free healthcare if they cannot pay for it, or if paying would be a hardship. There is no healthcare crisis. There is no such as an American who goes without health care (unless they choose to go without the care themselves.) The federal government, along with state and local governments use tax money to pay for health care for every single American alive today. They have done this for decades and decades.
If you have no insurance, you can still get the proper care from a doctor in your area. You can go to a local health clinic, run by county and city governments, or you can even go to most hospitals, never pay them a dime for their services, and come back time and time again, and they won't usually turn you away. If I'm not mistaken, legally, if there is an emergency situation, they cannot refuse you treatment no matter your ability to pay. It's even possible to find charitable-run medical centers that will serve you for whatever you can pay or for nothing at all, if you cannot pay.
The fact is- every American has access to healthcare from a number of providers. There is no healthcare crisis, there has never been a healthcare crisis, and it's nonsense for the democrats to bring this up in debates. It's even more ridiculous to bring it up and blame it on the Bush administration or any other President. Since healthcare is available to all Americans, all this whining and complaining about the "uninsured" is pointless, and it goes against logic.
I don't have health insurance, but if I were to get sick, I would be treated and taken care of. Does it makes any difference that I don't have health insurance, and I could go to the doctor for any tiny little thing and demand any type of medicine I want but don't need? Where in the Constitution does it say that it's the role of the US government to take money from Americans and pay for you to go to any doctor you want, for anything you want, anytime you want? It doesn't...and do you know why it doesn't? Our founding fathers had sense enough to know that the best government is a limited government...spending obscene amounts of money, or wanting to do so to get votes wasn't part of that plan, and it shouldn't be part of the plan today.
Posted by Josh at January 22, 2004 11:41 PM | TrackBackI believe if you truly listened to the issue at hand you wouldn't be as confused as you are about the issue. First of all, there is a healthcare crisis centered around providing healthcare to the uninsured or underinsured. Recent data through AMA and other organiations suggests since last year that healthcare costs have seen a double digit increase, while the real wage dollar value for the working American citizen has leveled off. What does this mean? The middle class who could afford healthcare are becoming uninsured and the government picks up the burden. The government can not sustain such a growth in fiscal spending, seeing that Medicaid consumes nearly 1/7th of the current budget. If you had any understanding of maintainence of a capitalistic system, you would understand that a workforce has to be healthy to reduce company losses because of worker illness. Therefore, it is a national structural issue to make sure that all citizens have healthcare, regardless of its absence from our Constitution.
Posted by: Medstudent at May 31, 2004 02:38 PMim not confused about the issue at all. its not the governments job to pay for everyones healthcare and make sure that every single person has insurance. every american has access to healthcare, and in the end- everyone has access to GOOD healthcare, maybe not the BEST there is, but good healthcare, and people can take care of their healths without being insured. its not the governments job to take even MORE of our money and spend it on failing healthcare programs. the government shouldnt be in the healthcare business at all. they cant even get the education system together, so theres no way they could do any better with healthcare.
im all for private charities and organizations making sure that everyone gets taken care of, or even the government giving money to do this- as they do now, but we dont need to spend more tax money, and we dont need to make sure that everyone is insured. the fact is- the candidates are trying to scare the uneducated into thinking- if they get sick, theyll die, because there is no one out there thatll take care of them. uninsured means you cant pick and choose which doctor you use, and you cant go in for every unnecessary treatment/test- but, in this country, you WILL get healthcare somehow. the candidates in the primaries wanted to blame the current administration, which is bologna, and they wanted to make it seem like- millions cant get healthcare, not only that they dont have insurance itself.