UCSD nurse to testify for single-payer system

Wow, there are so many assumptions here I don't know where to begin...




First, you are assuming that those who are not "choosing" to purchase health insurance are instead making frivilous choices such as cable TV and dinners out.



While I am sure this must not be true, this statement sounds makes it sound as though you agree with involuntay servitude.

As an advocate of choice, would you agree that a person has the right to self determination and should be allowed to choose their occupation?

Should not quality of life mean something?

And what of those who choose to pay insurance premiums for their family (I checked into this and it would cost more than my home mortgage-forgoing cable TV has hardly made a dent in that premium) and are still denied the care they need when they need it? Or have such high deductables that they must file bankruptcy to pay 20% of a very large medical bill (when they are not working because they are ill or caring for a family member)?

And what of all the people who are working in slave like conditions and still not having the option of employer sponsored medical coverage while earning barely enough to cover basic necessities like food and shelter for their families (Wal-Mart sticks out in my head).

How did the notion come about that people who are uninsured (or underinsured) are simply choosing frivolity instead of responsibility?

To be fair one must appreciate their own personal biases and strive to overcome them.

Ranks of underinsured U.S. adults increase 60%
The number of adults nationwide who have health insurance but face financial risk due to high out-of-pocket expenses - known as the underinsured - increased 60 percent between 2003 and 2007 to more than 25 million, a study released today found.

Middle- and higher-income families, those with annual incomes of at least $40,000, experienced the sharpest increase among the uninsured, nearly tripling from 4 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2007, according to the study by the Commonwealth Fund, which was published online in the journal Health Affairs.

While an estimated 47 million Americans have no insurance at all, health experts say people who are required to pay high deductibles and co-payments for limited benefits often go without care due to costs.

"Lack of insurance is only one part of the problem as even the insured have serious gaps in coverage," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a private fund that supports independent health research. "Insurance coverage is the ticket into the health care system but, for too many, that ticket does not provide genuine access to care."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BUD1114PTO.DTL