Mandatory Health insurance? Is it a solution to health care?

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I am a pre-nursing student, and am looking at issues surrounding current healthcare. What has recently caught my eye is the controversy over mandatory health insurance, and I have recently read some articles on the issue that have alarmed me. My first thought is that the government has no right to force me to buy a product I have no choice but to purchase, but my second is that it might have positive effects especially for those who are denied care due to health related issues. However, I cannot accept this as a solution to the healthcare predicament; there must be another way to go about this.

As a future nurse, I am concerned on how, if it comes to be, mandatory health insurance will affect my job and taking care of patients. In one of the articles I read from the Los Angeles Times, it said high deductibles discourage patients from getting preventative treatment. I can only assume that making it a requirement to get health care will drive up prices insanely. In the same article it was also stated that in Massachusetts a couple in their fifties with one child had to pay $767 a month for the bare bones plan and that did not include prescription drug coverage. Will people really seek care or treatment, and can they afford it, at those prices? I believe it is wrong to make someone pay so much for healthcare; it may pay my future salary but is it worth it? Health insurance companies are businesses, that I understand, but they need to be taking care of their customers and fulfilling their purpose so that I as a future nurse do not feel the repercussions of not being able to do my job and help persons in need just because their insurance company does feel like paying. In my honest opinion, when I pay insurance I feel like I'm paying for nothing at all--insurance, yeah right, I cannot even be insured that my insurance will cover anything and I am told that is how they all are. How can people get proper health care this way I ask you?!

I understand that to people who cannot get coverage it may seem like a god-send, I have a friend who had cancer and now cannot find anyone to insure her. She is one person who truly needs health insurance to get preventive treatment and cannot get it due to health insurance policies. It does not make sense to not insure people who are the most in need of healthcare. If they pay their rate (a decent one hopefully), they should get care and they should be able to purchase from at least someone. What a good solution may be is to make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to people who need it. So what if they lose money, people need to be more important than a paycheck. If the government wants to stick its nose in the business of private citizens then they most certainly can bug the health insurance industry into lower rates and better premiums. If people did not have to pay so much and the insurance companies could be counted on for their purpose then, perhaps more people would seek health care treatment more often and therefore be healthier, happier individuals.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

Well something needs to be done. The current system is falling apart. I don't think anyone has the perfect answer.

for those who support universal health care - such as what cananda has- they are considered liberal socialists and I guess with the idea of mandated purchasing of insurance coverage as well. In theory I agree with you.

HOWEVER - You say you are a prenursing student. When you become an RN are you not going to take care of pts who don't have insurance - just b/c they didn't 'choose' to purchase their own health insurance? I am a RN and I take care of many pts who don't have insurance, are indigent, ect. If they come in thru the ER and are in need of emergency treatment (and not, sometimes) they get it and are admitted b/c they are covered by the EMTALA laws. Sometimes they stay for days and I'm sure their bill would be in the 100k range, but the hospital will write it off.

I work in a small 200 bed hospital that wrote off millions in 'charity care' last year. How do they compensate? They raise the rates for those who 'can' pay - including the rates to the insurance companies. it is a vicious cycle.

I

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I highly doubt the people who go to the emergency room because they say they can't afford an OTC pregnancy test are going to pay insurance premiums. I really don't see how this is going to work very well. People know about the EMTALA law and unless that gets rescinded or drastically changed, you aren't going to be able to force people to buy insurance.

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The PNHP.org proposal is the best.

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Mandatory healthcare for WHO? For the ones who can afford it? What about the ones who can't afford it? The ones who live from paycheck to paycheck just trying to buy milk and bread for their babies?

How are these people going to afford it?

This is just all hype. You can't get blood out of a turnip.

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Ever heard of WIC, foodstamps, and the myriad of other social safety net programs that lets the paycheck to paycheck afford the cadillac escalades of the world?

Mandatory healthcare for WHO? For the ones who can afford it? What about the ones who can't afford it? The ones who live from paycheck to paycheck just trying to buy milk and bread for their babies?

How are these people going to afford it?

This is just all hype. You can't get blood out of a turnip.

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Ever heard of WIC, foodstamps, and the myriad of other social safety net programs that lets the paycheck to paycheck afford the cadillac escalades of the world?

WIC? Foodstamps??? What is that?

Gee, I never heard of that.

Hmmmmm..........maybe I remember my grandparents had some sort of program that helped them to eat........oh.....

what was it????

Oh, yeah, that's it, they had foodstamps, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I never saw them with a Cadillac!!! Seems I did their errands, and transported them where they needed to go. Hospital, dr's appointments, grocery store.

And they lived on about $600.00 per month.

NOT everyone who gets assistance has a cadillac, nor can everyone afford insurance.

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Specializes in Case Manager/Administrator.

I grew up in Canada and am still on the waiting list to remove a wart from my hand (30 pluse years). I was born in Washington state. I have lived in many different countries throughout the world (husband retired military) and can safely say I see good and bad with every medical communities. The US has advantages as we are steps ahead with technology. I have never really lived anywhere that mandates mandatory health care.

Countries that have universal health coverage make it work, it is their culture, they are a mostly homogenous society, have small geographic areas to cover. In US it is more challenging to get to the point of universal health coverage, we are a melting pot with many different views and expectations, although health coverage should be a right it is not. If the US makes me pay for universal coverage our technology edge will decrease and we will be no different than any other country in the world.

We do have universal coverage in the US it is called

Medicare and Medicaid, it has been around for decades. How is that working for us? we don't need to look elsewhere, look what we have already created, do we want more?

Lastly, my wart was removed in washington state in my doctors office years ago, my dad likes to keep my name on the Canada list.

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Well if anything needs to be at the bottom of the waiting line for Tx. it would be a wart on a hand.

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So you admit there will be qa waiting line or rationing with a US single payer system

Well if anything needs to be at the bottom of the waiting line for Tx. it would be a wart on a hand.
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We ration health care in the US by ability to pay NOT on the basis of need.

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Specializes in ICU M/S Peds Home Health.
We ration in the US by ability to pay NOT on the basis of need.

I am sorry... but is it not that way with everything?

If you do not have the ability to pay you don't live in a nice house...or apartment or a house at all?

If you do not have the ability to pay you do not eat lobster and steak... or bologna... or eat all.

If you do not have the ability to pay you do not drive a BMW... or a yugo

If you do not have the ability to pay you do not have a HDTV... or even a Black and white one

Everything in life is about your ability to pay. Unless something has changed that I am not aware of...

Regardless of what euphanistic name you give "health care reform" you are trying to get equality of results...

I really care less what anyone states or claims... The ability to improve one's station in life is there for everyone. The problem is that everyone wants the easy way... they don't want to go without the toys, or widgets or gadgets or the high end clothes...

It absolutely baffles me to see some of my students claim they can't afford childcare but they always have the latest and greatest phone and IPOD or computer or rims for their car. They always go out and eat lunch instead of bringing one. They go to movies and concerts and take road trips to Vegas and generally have alot of fun.

Their choice right? Sure... then they state they can't afford school/childcare/insurance or whatever it is that they NEED.

If we in this country FORCED people to attend needs over wants our entire country would be better off.

The answer is not; however, forcing everyone to be equally miserable so that there are no longer "haves" and "have nots."

Should there be exceptions where the government steps in and helps out? Sure. But they should be exceptions.

Remember kids... work hard. Millions on welfare depend on you.

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