Meeting Persephone

Lest anyone think that I'm utterly oblivious to some of the realities of a universal health care plan after reading my last post, I thought I would come through with some realities that could come to pass were a plan like that come to the US.

Taxes would certainly rise as I spoke about before. Nobody likes to see their money taken away especially when there seems to be no accountability within our government and wasteful spending runs amok. However, when you know that this new amount would be used strictly for health care, while initially scary as change often is, the pros would outweigh the cons over time.

"Abuse" of care. There is a threat that people finally able to receive care will do so. Seems strange to think of that as a negative but it could lead to congested waiting rooms for quite some time considering the numbers of people who have neglected care because of their inability to pay. On the up-side would be the fact that there would be fewer unnecessary visits to the emergency rooms nation wide. Presently people unable to pay flock to the ERs because they cannot be turned away despite their inability to pay. With a universal health care plan these people could set up an appointment with a physician's office instead of clogging the ER with minor issues. This would mean that those who truly have an emergency situation on their hands would be seen in a much more timely manner than they deal with currently.

The flocking of people to doctors would also make this seem a more expensive endeavor at the onset. Neglected care over long periods of time would create more intensive care that would equal greater cost initially. However, as these issues are eventually taken care of over time, the intention becomes prevention rather than treatment hopefully negating the need for expensive and on-going care. This could take a generation or two to settle down but health care is not a form of entertainment and the idea that people would be going for fun just because they could makes the opposition seem ridiculous.

There could be downfalls that Americans, in their competitive greed would bristle at and are doing so, but the reality is that that health care should never be considered a product only available to the wealthy. Not all of America is motivated by profit only attitudes as can be witnessed in times of need - Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 are prime examples of the ways in which people can come together to help others in their times of need. I watched the Kansas City area raise more than 10 million dollars in a matter of hours just after 9/11. Most people are compassionate and concerned - why shouldn't this extend to health care on the grand scale? If we can raise money for people over there (meaning outside of our immediate locale), those that we don't know, why not for those living right next door, in our hearts, and in our families? And yes, I understand the difference between contributing by your own will versus being "forced" by government to assist in something that may not help you personally a great deal, but if that same compassion can spur that kind of money and that kind of money is in the pockets of Americans, why can it not be spared in a more general way? It would lead to less need of those individuals stepping forward to help out on larger scale when these sort of things do happen and they are likely to happen again. If one person bears all of the weight, these issues can seem insurmountable, but if everyone is contributing the individual burden is MUCH less.

Rest assured that even if the US does adopt a universal health care system (which I have no great hopes that it would actually happen) I, with all of my ailments, will not be utilizing it or at least not over-using it for anything beyond pain relief. I intend to let this life come to an end as it inevitably will - gracefully and contentedly. However, just because I don't have the intention of using it myself does not mean that I believe others should be bound by my position. I do not believe I have the right to dictate to others how they should handle their lives or their health - and a universal health care plan, while available to all, would not be required to be utilized by all. You cannot be told that you must seek care if you do not care to.

Finally, one last argument that seems to be widely used in opposition to universal health care, is based in the "entitlement" concept. I don't have an argument for this. I believe whole-heartedly that people are entitled to health. I do not believe that the criticism of entitlement holds water for my own personal and moral perspective. People are entitled to a few things in my mind - health, education, safe housing, and dignity. Everyone is not entitled to a Fendi or Prada handbag or a brand new Mercedes every year - those are products - REAL PRODUCTS. But to be able to walk or even stand without pain is not a PRODUCT, this is a natural human right. And when captialism reigns supreme in this country, it is not advantageous to have people trying to exist in that sort of discomfort when their dignity is compromised and their perceived value according to social standards plummets because of their inability to contribute financially. It's counter-productive to deny people health care under these circumstances and leads to the mistreatment of the spirit of human beings.

The Trash Heap has spoken.