Let's Talk About Health Care and I Don't Mean the ACA

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

I mean health care, as in: If everyone needs health care, guarantee that everybody gets it.I know, when it comes to health care, it's easy to get into a debate for or against Obamacare. But we nurses see the world through a different lens: our patients. ...

... Every day, as we do our best to care for our patients, nurses see people with chronic disease like asthma or diabetes who can't afford insurance costs or medication. Maybe they're absent from work, tired, and distracted from trying to manage their health on a shoestring. They run the risk of hospitalization. They struggle for a distant unreachable shore hoping something will help. They can't get ahead because their health keeps dragging them down.

And yet the answer isn't on the horizon, the answer is in our pockets, in our hands. It's our taxes. We pay them and we ought to benefit from them.

There's one thing that every American does. Every working American (OK, except the Wall Street crowd) pays taxes. But what do we pay taxes for? Increasingly, we wonder where our money is going, how our money is serving our communities, and how our tax money is helping us and our families. ...

... We're saying that our taxes should pay for our healthcare. It works for seniors, it works for Congress members, and it will work for all of us.

This week, we launched an online campaign, asking voters to demand this from Congress. You can learn more about the online campaign here. ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-burger/universal-health-care_b_3733129.html

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I think its great for Americans to hold the government accountable for how our tax dollars are spent. However, it's dishonest to say the "Wall Street crowd" either doesn't work or doesn't pay taxes, and it's also not accurate to imply that medicare works for seniors. If your post were not so obviously biased in favor of government run healthcare you may be able to start an honest dialouge. To really find a solution for improving healthcare in America we need to put everything on the table and be honest with eachother.

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

But I have been working for single payer healthcare for 22 years. That began after years of reading, talking with others, and observing how lack of healthcare for all of us is bad for my beloved United States of America.

I've been trying to do my part to have honest conversations here on ALLNURSES.COM since 1998.

But the leaders we elected did not allow everything on the table. Nurses and doctors were arrested when the Finance Committe was the first to hod hearings that led to the ACA. Senator Baccus had the "stakeholders" on the podium with him. Nurses and physicians were not considered as having a stake in healthcare reform. The were noy allowed to speak.

I agree it is a complicated issue. I'm glad to read criticism of my point of view.

I have an opinion and posted an article that in general agrees with my thoughts.

I am now a senior. With my Medicare and a supplement I can go to any provider I choose. My 85 year old husband is alive due to the care he needed in the last two decades.

I don't think it is OK for working people to pay taxes that pay the my healthcare, members of congress healthcare, The Veterans Administration care, healthcare for government employees, care for our military and their dependents, Medicaid for poor people, and emergency care for those without insurance and then some of the working people whose taxes pay for others cannot afford health care for themselves.

I agree that people on Wall Street pay taxes. but we bailed out their banks and investment corporations.

Rather than what we have now i think we can and should use our taxes to pay for healthcare.

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I think I get your point, as long as we are paying taxes lets spend that money on health care rather than corporate bailouts etc. I agree that would make sense. I'm not sure where to go from here, I guess the bottom line is that we need to hold our elected officials accountable, take back the country so to speak. I'm for returning to a more strict interpretation of the constitution, limited government, etc. I can't reconcile this with the idea of the government providing for everyones healthcare. Not sure what else to say other than the fact that I appreciate the discussion.

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Specializes in Critical-care RN.

Try this... Obamacare Whining Reaches Fever Pitch Over Delays | Crooks and Liars ;)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

If we stopped pouring aid to ungrateful countries we could afford to provide healthcare for our citizens.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Interesting...Strict interpretation: " Interpreting the Constitution based on a literal and narrow definition of the language without reference to the differences in conditions when the Constitution was written and modern conditions, inventions, and societal changes..." Obviously if you think with any type of rational mind you can see the drawbacks inherent in this absurdity...I would also throw in the "limited government" mumbo jumbo as well...Shall we all live in compounds and hidden bunkers as these ideas suggest, for they certainly do not take into account any reality that is presenting in this day and age. No man is an island.

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malamud69, not sure what to make of your comment. What is the problem with limited government? Where in the constitution or anywhere do the founding fathers suggest we live in hidden bunkers or compounds? I did say "more strict" with the implication being that we have strayed too far from the constitutions original intent. Also consider that the principles on which the constitution is based are timeless. I don't know about you but I don't change my principles based on my environment. One problem with our society today is that people allow for too much of a grey area, anything goes. People need to start seeing more things as right or wrong, no more in between

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There is nothing in the Constitution, that provided for free public education for all children from K-12. Yet everyones pays school taxes. Those with children presently in our public school system, and those whose children graduated long ago from our public school system, and those who never had children in our public school system at all.

So what is the difference? None. It was determined by the Founding Fathers, that a free, public school system, was essential to having a well educated, populace, to ensure that everyone would be able to participate in our government, be able to read, and understand the issues when it came time to vote.

It was in the Best interest of our government to do this. It is also in the best interest of our nation, to have a population that can access health care without fear of bankruptcy, in serious illness. it is a matter of fairness. You also cannot participate in our government if you are facing bankruptcy, or become ill from and illness that could have been prevented, if you had healthcare available to you.

The middle class is paying for health care for EVERYONE except ourselves. We should be able to access health care with the tax dollars that we are paying. Spare me the sob stories of the ungrateful frequent fliers in our ERs, etc. There are also ungrateful parents and students in our public school system, as well. Kid who skip school, abuse the system, Illegal Aliens who use our public schools as free daycare for the multitude of anchor babies, who they seem to produce yearly, at the US taxpayers expense.

The list is endless. But at the end of the day, the US taxpayers deserve the health care that they ARE paying for. WE as a nation have just not taken the time and/effort to produce a single payer system for the country. And our elected leaders are too busy making the health care corporations happy, by ensuring that they have a steady stream of customers, to fill their bank accounts.

Yes. I know that there are people from other countries who come here to obtain health care, procedures, that take too long to obtain in their own country. But ask each one of them, including Canadians, if they would give up their single payer system to have a system like we have here. I would bet that not one of them would say yes. I rest my case.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

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Specializes in Critical-care RN.

...it's nice to hear the truth ;)

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There is no denying the fact that an educated and healthy population is good for the nation. I just don't believe the government is the best choice to manage the nations healthcare, look how poorly our public schools are doing, and don't say it's due to lack of funding. If we are going to be paying for everyones healthcare we need to demand better than the ACA offers, better than what the people of Canada or other systems receive. While true, it seems a poor attitude to go with the idea of "well we're paying for it anyway".

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Specializes in Emergency.
malamud69, not sure what to make of your comment. What is the problem with limited government? Where in the constitution or anywhere do the founding fathers suggest we live in hidden bunkers or compounds? I did say "more strict" with the implication being that we have strayed too far from the constitutions original intent. Also consider that the principles on which the constitution is based are timeless. I don't know about you but I don't change my principles based on my environment. One problem with our society today is that people allow for too much of a grey area, anything goes. People need to start seeing more things as right or wrong, no more in between

Interesting...but I disagree...the world is "grey", is anything but timeless-look at science and reason...does an established theory- say in 1776- that has advanced and changed with more knowledge-dare I say evolve- still remain as the only correct way(view) because a group of people with a narrow view see it that way? If we want progress as human beings and as a "world" we must adapt and change...personally I am sick of people telling me because a bunch of white slave owners etc...(yes I already can hear your rebuttals) wrote something down, that I have to forever adhere to its doctrine. Does not this mechanism-this great work also give us the "freedom" to change it?! Basically this tired argument is the same as saying we need to follow the fairy tale that is the 10 commandments...no basis in reality.

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