Before I begin, I want to point something out. Being opposed to government-run health care does not mean we believe the current insurance system in the US is ideal. It works but is drastically in need of changes.
Also, I would love to see anyone actually respond to Danoff's point regarding why you aren't suggesting that government provide the barest of necessities, such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. If health care is a right as a necessity then why aren't those government provided rights?
MÜLE_9242;5638115
The person who said that gave no sources. I understand that your understanding is wrong. Wait times aren't nearly as bad as what people make them out to be.
OK, as someone who uses the American health system a lot I'll just run down the few tests, procedures, etc I have had recently and you tell me what wait times are in your system.
- EKG
- Echocardiogram
- CAT Scan
- Chest X-Ray
- Heart Catheterization
- Blood lab work (I am assuming each test has the same wait time)
- Non-referred (as in we were not referred to a cardiologist by our GP) pediatric cardiology exam for paranoid parents.
- MRI
- CPAP machine supply pick up.
- Diabetic home testing kit supplies
- Pacemaker interrogation
A quick google search reveals 12-18 months waiting for an MRI in Canada. When I got my MRI the wait was 1.5 weeks... oh and my evil insurance company covered it 100%. 18 months to find out you have a brain tumor (which is what my scan was for) is the difference between life and death. In less serious cases it can be the difference between walking with a limp for the rest of your life vs. playing hockey again.
My wife had one recently (Recurring migraines, nothing showed) and she had to wait three business days, five total when you factor in the weekend when the office wasn't open. She could have had it on the day her doctor requested the test if she had gone to the hospital lab instead of an independent diagnostics center.
Relying on insurance companies for health coverage is really laughable.
Really?
You should not have to declare personal bankruptcy if you or a family member has the gall to acquire cancer or requires long term rehabilitation after an injury. America is better than that, or at least it should aspire to be.
As someone who has a pure survival need to understand our system to avoid these situations I can say right now that there is zero reason any of the above should happen, ever. Our system, flawed as it is, can provide for nearly everyone. In fact, our government already provides for more people than should need it. And the people that truly need assistance could find it easier to afford if not for the legal limitations on the system. One major issue with Obama's plan is that while it does take care of more people it has little concern for if they want or need it, and it places new limits that actually make it harder for those who can afford it now. The one that comes to mind immediately is the new limits on HSAs that make them max out before you can save up enough to cover the full deductible of most health care plans or allows you to use them on OTC home preventative products.
But we also live in a society where we have become spoiled by materialism. Cars for every member of the household, game systems, eating out way too often, home theaters, satellite, cable TV, lightning fast high-speed Internet, and some cities where $1 million might get you a starter home. None of that is necessary, yet it is an expectation that I even see people on government assistance having. Look at the Show Off Your Latest Purchase thread and tell me that anyone in there should have a need for government provided health care. Some guys in there have more shoes than my wife. When we quit acting as if we deserve everything then maybe we can look at how much we actually need government to provide health care for everyone.
Think about it, some societies can't even gain access to safe drinking water from a faucet, yet we sit and watch our cable TV news on our HDTVs so we can see people wearing suits that cost hundreds of dollars debate how to handle the costs of health care because it is only affordable by the rich, and then go on our hundreds and thousands of dollars computers and go online to debate it amongst other individuals in the off-topic area of a Web site devoted to a video game that requires a $300 piece of hardware to play.
I understand why people feel it should be a government-funded need. I have enough stuff going on to understand where those people are coming from. But it is not the responsibility of Danoff to have to pay for my pacemaker or heart transplant. My brother shouldn't be forced to help cover the costs of the 16 pills I take every day just to make sure I don't die before a donor heart becomes available. My mother likes to just hand me money, even though I don't need it, to help out. Why should she also be forced to buy the medical supplies necessary to let me sleep properly at night or test my blood sugar, BP, and pulse daily.
I wonder how many of the protesters out there during the healthcare bill debate (holding anti-socialism signs) were cashing their (socialist) Medicare cheques due to being of that advanced age. I am conservative on many things, but I cannot side with the Republican Party of late that counts on an uninformed electorate and plays them for fools.
And to make sure I am not considered part of this crowd; my transplant coordinator has repeatedly suggested that I sign up for disability as I can draw it right now. She even said that I might not need it, but I may be glad I am getting it later. I have not signed up. In fact, my mother printed out the forms for me and I threw them away. I already have enough conflicted guilt over the knowledge that my life will require someone else to die. I will not add to that by violating my principles so that they will be forced to help pay for everything I do until then.
