This is a discussion on Personal or government responsibility??? within the The Political and Social Snake Pit forums, part of the Current Happenings category; With the recent talk of a national health care plan the basic question of where does an individual's responsibility end ...
With the recent talk of a national health care plan the basic question of where does an individual's responsibility end and the government's responsibility begin comes into question.
How much of your life are you willing to let the government be in charge of and what price are you willing to pay for them to take care of you???
I don't want a National Health Care Plan.
ahh...Change is difficult. Inevitable, but difficult non the less.
difficult or not...is it a good thing or a bad thing for the government to have increased control??
I prefer making my own financial decisions, but I like having options available.
Bad, in my opinion. The government has more than enough control already.Originally Posted by bluffmanxx
a small business owner ~ family of four
PPO ~ $1,400.00 a month
Something needs to change
I feel that the control should be over the pharmaceutical (ok ok, I misspelled it) companies and the prices that doctors charge for services, not having the government pay their huge prices. Those who want the National Health Care program seem to think that the taxpayers can pay for anything. That is always their answer.
will the overall cost of healthcare go down?? if it will.....then I'm all for it. I have no insurance right now because we can't afford it. I have NO CLUE what a national healthplan would cost me.....but if its cheaper than what they offer now for a family of 4....i'm all for it.
ya'll can hiss and boo all you want. chances are you have and can AFFORD insurance. I can't.....so bite me
If a national healthcare plan will make it more expensive...then im moving out of the country
"For Those That Have Fought For It, Freedom Has A Meaning The Protected Will Never Know"
Perspective from a country that has "universal" health care:
I am 100% in favor of national health care. I firmly believe that health care and education are the cornerstones of a free and democratic society and that they must be available to everyone equally, without question and without first having to check whether or not you can afford it.
The upside of universal health care, of course, is that everyone gets treated without question and doctors have the luxury of making medical decisions based on what will actually help the patient without first having to fuss and fret over the cost or call some HMO to ask permission. This means even the poorest of the poor gets an MRI if an MRI is needed to make a diagnosis and that poor person doesn't see a bill for it at the end.
The downside is that the funding for this comes from tax dollars, which means a tax hike across the board (people below or near the poverty line typically don't have to pay a cent). For example, my wife and I pay out $88 per month for our coverage (total, not each). And since virtually everyone is putting into the kitty but not everyone is necessarily taking out, overall coverage costs are lower on a per person basis. Also on the downside, if the government chooses to keep costs down, they tend to do so by cutting staff, which leads to longer wait times for treatment, which leads to higher mortality rates due to slow service. And, if you're living in a place that is prepared to cut costs to the bone to artificially balance a budget that doesn't really need balancing, such as the province in which I'm living right now, some services become pay-as-you-go, irrespective of the supposed "universal" nature of the health care. So we Albertans are paying full price for our dental coverage and our eye glasses, and prescription medicines are only partially covered, among other things. There is secondary health coverage (such as Blue Cross) to fill in the gaps, but that costs more and many simply can't afford it. So it is hardly a perfect system and it can be fucked up by the idiots at the top of the food chain, just like anything else designed by politicians.
The other piece of the equation that no one ever wants to talk about up here is that the two-tier health care system still lives on in a universal system. If the rich and powerful don't want to wait in the queue with the masses, they are free to seek their treatments outside of the system -- rich folks in Canada routinely head to the States for quick medical procedures that might take months to get in Canada. Such is the privilege of having money.
Taking all that into consideration, I personally would rather step into a doctor's office knowing up front that I need not worry about the cost, than decide to just stay home and hope whatever is ailing me is non-fatal because I can't afford insurance. Your mileage may vary.
I'm sure the other non-Americans around here can provide plenty more insight as well...
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