Health Care is a right

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I would do a poll on this, but I do not know how to - or maybe you need to be a premium member.

At any rate, I would like to hear some discussion on whether you feel health care is a right or not.

I personally do.

Specializes in Psych , Peds ,Nicu.
Why doesn't the government give every family and homeless person a house? There are lots of people that have 2 homes, they can't live in both of them at once!

Take the greed out of the housing-industrial complex!

Why doesn't the government give food to it's citizens rather than let those greedy food companies make money off of it? People need food to live! It would greatly diminish their quality of life if they didn't get enough!

Why can't we do that too?

Having private, for-profit food manufacturers or home and property sales is just as bad as having private, for-profit health care, isn't it? You simply cannot live without food and shelter, so these things shouldn't be for profit or private should they?

How far down this "socialized" rabbit hole do we need to go?

Does government need to take over these businesses too, out of its obligation to protect and take care of its citizens? There's a lot of risque stuff on television and the internet nowadays.... should the government also censor some of this in order to "protect and take care of its citizens"?

Tell me where the line between government responsibility ends and individual responsibility begins.

I guess the diference between food , housing and an individuals healthcare , is that food and housing are commodities that can be bought , sold and traded , wheras you cannot do this with your health .

We can take all the responsible measures we can to maintain our health ; good diet , adequate excercise , regular health check ups . But still our bodies can betray us , we then become sick .At this point we cannot buy , sell or trade our poor health / body for somebody elses good health .

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Specializes in Acute post op ortho.

The question was rhetorical.

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The government ( bythe way which part of the government are you referring to ) , will not be involved in individual healthcare decisions . Do you honestly believe , the government will set up boards that will discuss an individuals healthcare needs and decide on that individuals care ?.

Like private insurers , the government will come to a decision what funds are available to fund healthcare , but unlike private insurers they will not be involved in any preapproval decision for an individual care .If a service is available you will given an appointment when the service is available , wheras if the insurer denies your treatment were will you turn . Oh I forgot , you will sue , but how are you going to get around the arbitration clause , hidden away in your policy ?

I have Triwest insurance for reservists. I lost my insurance when I got divorced in April. I have a pre existing condition that makes me uninsurable. Triwest costs me $47 a month, for single coverage. If I neeed family coverage, it would cost $180.

I pay $9 for a generic prescription, regardless of what it costs, $3 for a generic, again, regardless of what it costs. Only once did they challenge some lab work I had done, as not medically necessary. I provided them with documentation, and they promply paid the bill.

That is all there is to goverment healthcare. The only things I need to have pre approved, are big ticket items, like surgery, CT scans, MRIs, etc. I have never had anything denied. That is the big boogy man of government health care.

I take my coverage where ever I go, and can pursue working as an Independant Contractor, if I want, or work as a Legal Nurse Consultant. I have the freedom to do what I want and not have to worry about losing my job, or working at a job I hate to keep my health insurance.

I did not become uninsured, or refuse to obtain health care because I was irresponible, or I preferred to spend money on drugs, alcohol, pedigreed dogs, or other fluff. I lost my insurance through no fault of my own, and became ininsurable because I developed a condition through no fault of my own. I do not smoke, drink, take drugs, or gamble, I do not weigh 300 pounds, and I exercise regulary. In these times, everyone is having trouble finding jobs, even nurses. I have had trouble finding work. Would you deny me my tax payer provided health care, or would you prefer my to clog emergency rooms, and file bankruptcy? JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Lindarn,

I do not want you and other people leeching our system with your lack of personal responsibility towards genetic disorders you choose to develop or medical problems derived from acts of fate you choose to participate in.

As it is now, you are a burden on the system provided by the socialistic military we have. There is no right to healthcare and we shouldn't make an exception just because you served our country. The fact you pay so little for your military-provided health care is a travesty to the open market which shows that people are willing to pay many times what you pay for premiums and prescriptions. Artificial price controls like the ones in your plan stifle innovation in billing and lower profit margins. It's dangerous when insurers approve procedures with little to no complaining as that is pure loss for the insurer. How can free market insurers hope to compete with government-subsidized non-profits when the latter virtually gives its product away? That's a conflict of interest if I've ever seen one and just one way more our country is turning communist.

For shame.

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Specializes in Psych , Peds ,Nicu.
The question was rhetorical.

As attorneys are taught , if you don't like the answer , maybe you shouldn't have asked the question !:twocents:

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Specializes in Acute post op ortho.
As attorneys are taught , if you don't like the answer , maybe you shouldn't have asked the question !:twocents:

The question was posed to generate thought. Just how much power do you want to place in the hands of a government that can waste money faster than an entity on earth?

Remember, a government with the power to give you everything you need, has the power to take everything you've got.

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Specializes in Psych , Peds ,Nicu.

OK ozoneranger , I guess I place my faith in the electorate , if a government goes too far from the center , it will increase the chance of it being put out of power . For that reason alone I prefer to vest power in a government , rather than corporations .

I was not supportive of much of the Bush administrations policies , but they governed by the mandate of the people , so while I could protest their policies I accepted , they had the right to govern as they saw fit .

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Specializes in cardiac nursing.
That's a conflict of interest if I've ever seen one and just one way more our country is turning communist.
Being a nurse from Sweden I follow your discussions with great interest.

Although my skills in the American language have many gaps I´ll try my best to describe our insurance system.

It has for many, many years is a public insurance system where every citizen pays from his salary to the health insurance system. Of course there are also private insurances you can take beside this public system. But the main system is governed by the state.

Each one of us, that counts all inhabitants on this planet, has responsibility for his/her health but when the day comes when you need medical/hospital care it´s a charitable thought that you shall have this without any questions like "How have you lived your life?" People who hasn´t been able to work due to whatever reason are a subject to this charity as well as all others.

I have a really hard time to regard this as some kind of communism, isn´t it more a christian thought?

There will always be a market for private insurance companies and they will have no problem finding customers.

vss04/Sweden, for the moment governed by a conservative administration :typing

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Specializes in ER.

i dont quite understand the logic that tells us that our government is not to be trusted with a role in health care, but is utterly trustworthy with the largest nuclear stockpile in the world. i am certainly no fan of many policies of the us government, and have fought them as a labor and human rights activist for years.

but isnt it clear that this movement against a public option is really just a proxy for the insurance companies? they have stated themselves that their profit-motive can not compete with the efficiency of a public plan. wouldnt this be a more logical incentive for whipping up fear of a public option?

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Specializes in He who hesitates is probably right....

The movement against the public option is based on the fact that there is no way the government can afford to pay for it. There is no way my family can afford the additional taxes to pay for it. We are the people that pay ALL of the bills, and benefit from very few of the programs that we fund. My children are both in college, dean's list students, not eligible for any aid from any source. We saved for their education since before they were born. Not enough, not even close. Obama and his tax/fee/"revenue streams" machine can kiss my *ss. They keep chipping away at my check, and I'll go on the dole too. You want freebies, fly across the ocean.

Back to the ANA (communists), didn't the PA Nurses Assoc. sever ties with them?

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