Health Care Debate

Everyday in the news we hear about the health care debate. I hear people talking about it being "socialism" and how it will bankrupt the country. I hear people saying that they don't want the government run health care to tell them what doctor they can have. I hear people saying that they don't want to pay for illegal immigrants to get health care and how president Obama is lying about them not getting free health care. I would like to talk about my view on each of these and I know there will be those that disagree with me. That is alright, like I say I am just one small voice to be heard and hopefully I will be reasonable and rational about it. There is no argument out there saying we don't need a change in our health care system other than the insurance companies that make millions off our troubles. So I will write like that is not an issue. First, understanding that a democracy is only as effective as the people involved in process are active in that process. Socialism is part of our country and part of our democracy it is not separate and something bad in and of itself. It is simply the belief that those that have should help those that do not have or cannot provide for themselves. Now, I understand this is socialism in its simplest form. That being said in our democratic country we employ socialism everyday. Social Security is a socialist program, welfare and unemployment are socialist programs. When we give to non-profit organizations we are preforming socialist acts. These are time proven and effective programs and acts that benefit many and are in no way a bad thing they do not detract from our democracy. I think that history has instilled a fear of socialism that is unfounded and irrational. That being said I would like to see the health care bill include a public option. I would prefer our government just have one program for all because I think that would be the most effective form of health care but that won't happen as the fear of losing our health insurance companies is too great. A fear driven by those who profit from those companies. Government run health care is proven effective, efficient and powerful in many countries across the world. People do not seem to understand the economic effects of the current health care system is one of the biggest influences on our economic status in the world. When people file bankruptcy most are due to medical issues. This is a major cause of debt in this country. Now think about what happens when someone is faced with major medical expenses. The cost of the care and the cost of getting that needed care. You have a major change in your health and you need the care and like most people you are living from pay check to pay check so you use your credit cards to help you get through. You pay for things like gas, food and travel expenses or maybe you need to use it for your medication or your co-pays but you start using it for necessities. Then you miss work because you have to go to the doctor so your job is put in jeopardy. You try to manage it all and are stressed because you are spending more than you are bringing in so it increases the effects of your medical issues. You try your best to make ends meet but end up maxing out your cards just doing what you have to do to get by. By and by you end up not being able to make those minimum credit card payments and you can't keep up with the medical bills that are coming in for all the things your insurance won't cover. Your only option is to file bankruptcy. This happens to many people who are not financially irresponsible but overwhelmed by the cost. This is what people don't understand is that just because you have health insurances doesn't mean that you will be financially OK if a major health issues comes along. 3 yrs ago my daughter was in a major accident. She was unemployed at the time and had no insurance. She was an adult so she did not qualify for title XIX when the accident first happened she had no help. I as her mother took the responsibility on and took care of her as best I could. Medications, bandages and medical equipment quickly wiped out my savings and I maxed out my credit cards taking her back and forth to the state run hospital which is 125 miles from my home. The state took care of her hospital bills but there were many things she had to have that they did not cover. It wasn't until two years into her recovery that she was approved for social security disability that she qualified for full medical care. Now, the thing that people don't see is that if we have government run health care things like this wouldn't happen. She would have had the things she needed and instead of using everything I had to care for her I could have used that money to spend buying goods and services that would help our economy and stimulated taxable services that would go to our government to pay for the services she received. The United States debt includes all we owe in credit cards and bank loans as much as it includes our government spending. Most people don't realize this. So, if we have a society that believes in helping those that do not we are a socialist society within our democracy. We need a balance of socialism and democracy which will help our standing financially in the world. I have health insurance but sometimes wonder why. I pay a good chunk of my pay every month to the insurance company that tells me what doctors I can see and what doctors I can't see. They have a list of preferred doctors and if I chose to use a doctor that is not on their list of preferred doctors then I have to pay more. I take medication every day for arthritis but it isn't the medication that will help me the most as that one I can't afford. My insurance company doesn't say I can't take that one that would help me but the do say the will not help me pay for it because it cost too much. I can't afford the co-pays because I am living from pay check to pay check so my medical needs are not taken care of. So, why then do I pay for the health insurance, because I have no other option. I have preexisting conditions that would prevent me from reinstating my health insurance if I went off it long enough to get my finances under control because they will only cover all your care if you enlist them when you first start employment. If you sign on after that they can refuse to even insure you. So essentially my medical insurance controls who I see for a doctor and what services I can receive. Why is it OK for the insurance companies to do this but then when we talk about government run health care we are afraid of them doing the same thing? That is irrational and unreasonable. I will write on the other concerns another day.