It recently occurred to me that if I were to come down with some terrible injury or illness, I would be totally screwed. I don't have health insurance. And you can't get health insurance once you've been diagnosed. And there is no way I could pay for my health care, especially for a long drawn out illness like cancer or something. This situation must happen to millions of people regularly. How many poor people are there out there who don't have health insurance? And it's easy to break a bone. Who knows when an accident can happen.
As I get older and seem to get sick more often, this has really begun to worry me. What if it turns out I have a really bad disease? It seems like only people with money get help. Or if you happen to be a cute child with e freaky new illness and you can be used to raise money. This is a terrible system. One I know that is trying to be changed as I type this. And I have to admit that I am extremely ignorant when it comes to the ins and outs of the argument over national health care. But from that ignorant standpoint, based solely on common sense, doesn't it make sense that everyone should have access to adequate health care? At least the basic emergency and preventative care? When I lived in Vermont we had a state health insurance system. If you made under a certain amount, insurance was free, after that you paid a deductible based on income. I thought it was great. It was better than private insurance. I got rehab bills taken care of, they paid for my methadone medication across state lines, and it was affordable. If it meant my taxes were a little higher, they weren't high enough to be noticeable. But the benefits were noticeable. How can people not want to pitch in to help everyone around them be healthier? Don't they realize we are all connected?
2 comments:
I can't even imagine not having government health care. Our system is not great right now because they messed with it too much trying to make it "free". It can't be free. They need to fund it. But the premiums were/are very reasonable - in fact, I think they should charge a little more so we get better care again. We don't run to the doctor a lot but with my husband's heart, both sons needing tubes in their ears, and the one being repeatedly hospitalized for asthma, and now with my neck problems, we would be in serious trouble without our plan. It sounds like Vermont runs a similar system to ours right now. I think there's just a lot of hardcore conservatism in the USA that keeps people with money on top with all the power. God forbid anyone on a lower rung gets a leg up. So much for the land of opportunity.
You are so right about the way it is in the States. The people on the top do try to stay there with all their might. I've often wondered how difficult it is to get into Canada as a citizen. You probably have to have something to offer them, to begin with. Like a degree in engineering or something. They probably wouldn't let me in.
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