Fear Mongering On the Health Care Issue

If we're talking about a form of government funded health insurance being instituted, it will changes a few things about the system. Particularly in the realm of doctor participation in programs, how freely individual doctors are to charge for their services, and overall hamper the system by snowing it in with government paperwork.

The amount you pay for taxes will change. You'll be shelling out more for other peoples' health care. Moreover the tax money being funneled into the system will be money that isn't going into other important programs. Like infrastructure or research.

I'm not entirely callous to the plight of those people who can't afford medical care or who have undergone such expensive procedures that they are paying it off for the rest of their lives. But the simple fact remains the health care runs like any other business. They have highly trained professionals, shouldering astronomical responsibilities for people's health and recovery; these doctors should be paid for the hard work and dedication they put into their jobs. Not only the doctors, but the nurses who help them. Additionally modern facilities need to be continually built and maintained, medical equipment needs to be bought and maintained, Pharmaceuticals, etc., etc.

Health Care isn't an inexpensive business by far. Unless you want the military's style of medical care: "Motrin and Water. Oh and here's some stretches I found on internet that you can do, good luck!"

Luck? Does it really come down to luck? My Mother is one of the hardest working people I know of. I wish my work ethic could hold a candle to hers and I'm no slouch. Without a college degree she was able to attain a junior executive position at H.R. Block and since moving away from them has been continually approached for promotion in other companies (she doesn't work to be an executive anymore). Is she Lucky to have health insurance? Or did she work for it? Should we be providing people who can't contribute much to society with expensive health coverage at our expense? I don't have enough money as it is. And my tax dollars are already spread thin. Moreover I don't trust a government run health anything.

I know there are exceptions. But at this point I am under the impression that people who want the most expensive health care, don't need the most expensive health care. There are sometimes other, less expensive methods that may not be as good as a silver bullet, but still work.

There are others that don't want to work hard enough to improve themselves to get the best health coverage. Your average Wal-Mart worker isn't someone who is entirely without the skills and faculties to get a decent job with a decent health plan. They just don't ambition to rise higher than that(I do have a few friends who work at Wal-Mart).

A pound of prevention is equal to ounce of cure. Old cliche, but still a great one. Why don't we implement a less expensive and farther reaching program of health education while pressuring the fast food industry to offer more inexpensive healthy foods in their stores? Why don't we tell people how to succeed in their health and empower them to do so all the while setting them up to win?

Why be retroactive when we can be proactive?

--Tao