| The Healthcare Debate | | Print | |
| Friday, 30 October 2009 | |
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The Healthcare Debate
As a teacher, how many of us have heard the following from a student: “I’m sorry I don’t have my homework because last night we had to take my (fill in the blank) to the emergency room and we didn’t get back till late. I was too tired, didn’t get enough sleep.” Did you ever wonder why that person had to be taken to the ER and not to a doctor? Usually it’s because the family has no health coverage. In this rich country, which spends billions and trillions on wars or nation building elsewhere, American citizens, legal residents and their families are denied health care because of fears of “socialism”, or fear mongering about “death panels”, or plain and simple greed. Heavens to Betsy, as Rumsfeld used to say, we cannot be like the French, who are after all “the cheese eating monkeys” of the “old world”. They have a single payer but their doctors are autonomous. Nobody interferes with which doctor you choose to see. But we are the US of A. How could we ever have a single payer! HELLO! We already have the system in place and it’s called MEDICARE. You may not remember the battles fought over that, but I am sure you’ve heard about it and read about it. Doctors surveyed would rather have a MEDICARE type payer than deal with the myriad labyrinths of the insurance companies. We pay a fortune in trying to collect money from those insurance companies which could be saved by these same doctors. No wonder they’d rather have a single payer, at least they know who they are dealing with. For the last few days, both PBS and NPR have aired reports on the horrors of the so-called Health Care System. Families are developing health problems because of their inability to care for the health of their families. There is one in the mid-west where the parents have had to forego pay raises so that their children, one of whom has lung disease can continue to be on the state insurance plan. If their income goes up, they have to divorce each other and the lesser earning spouse has to have full custody. So much for the spouting of our conservatives and their interpretation of family values. There are hundreds if not thousands of cases like this one. Write to your congressperson and your senators! Don’t feel complacent because YOU have a Cadillac plan that your union has safeguarded. Even that could be in jeopardy. Remember, tomorrow you may be the one in the same boat as someone who doesn’t have insurance today. Wouldn’t you rather fight now and get everyone including that student and his family the same good health care you have? |
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