Is Health Care a Right?

Nurses Activism

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Just want to see your opinion (friendly discussion, no flaming, please). Is health care a right that should be enjoyed equally here in the U.S.? If so, how would this be financed without breaking the bank? How would you place limits (if any) on health care for all?

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

No one said her children are useless. Hopefully they won't make the same decisions their mother did and they won't follow in the cycle of dependence. However, I don't believe that her children are my responsibility. Whose responsibility are my children? My dog? Me or my husband's financial obligations in the event of an untimely death? Guess what? It's not MY neighbor. It's me. So how is that fair?

It's not like I was born with money or a home. I chose to go to school and not one of my neighbors is helping me fund it, then or now. How is that fair?

Originally posted by chigap

Would you rather trade places with her? Do you envy what she has? What would you rather do? Do you teach your children to treat her children like they are less than because of their mothers' choices? Judgement is cheap, but what is your solution? Is it to comdemn this ladies children and to write them off as useless?

1) i at no time condemned her children.

2) i resent the fact that there are families that are multigenerational PA families,,,"what do you wanna do when you grow up?" "Get preggers and get food stamps"...these families view children as a source of income...more kids=more$$$...

i donot have the solution....wish i did...but i do not think universal health care is the answer...

i apologize for the fact that my last post sounds extremely generalized....

This whole thing is distasteful.....

My God, is there no grace or dignity left in this world?

People should stop judging others and try to understand NO EVERYONE IS the same, not everyone has the ability, support, ect to BE AS GOOD AS eveyone thinks THEY ARE.

No wonder society is as rank as it is.

Thanks, but NO THANKS to persue this topic.....

Originally posted by Susy K

The "support" is one sided. No one supports me or my family.

How about the police force? The elementary and grade schools you went to (and ate lunch at)? The roads you drive on? The pipes that deliver your water and gas? Have you ever used a public university hospital, or an MD trained at a public university hospital? Is your home loan through FHA? Do you use your voting privileges? Who do you think pays for all of this? No way you could pay for these things all on your own. We all pay for them. This is the support that you and I need, as working people and citizens. There is not a country in the world you could live in and not pay taxes. Most tax more than we do.

Your tax dollars do not solely go to welfare or social security.

You also have the safety net that all of us have -- welfare, medicare, medicaid, social security -- even if we never need to use it, at least we know it is there. We have all seen abuses of the system. That doesn't mean the whole thing should be junked.

Wasn't it in the 80s that the psychiatric hospitals were closed down? Sure, we saved a lot of money in doing so. And the homeless population exploded. And the moms and dads in their 70s and 80s are wondering what will happen to their 50-something severely mentally ill or severely mentally retarded sons and daughters when they aren't there to care for them.

MY neighbors are all elderly. They are all getting Social Security. Shall we make these "deadbeats" go back to work as well? After all, people USED to work until they died.

I can't believe what I'm reading here!!

Can we, at least, agree that there is no such thing as "FREE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL"?????

HHHEEEEEEELLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am positively not judging others. I simply want all US citizens to take some responsibility and accountability for their own health needs.

For God's sake, we live in a great nation, with access to the finest health care anywhere on the globe!!

WHY, oh why are people ssssssooooooo resistant to shelling out money to pay for it???????

Guess what???

It's not FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be responsibile!!!!!!!!

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

You know, I'm going to type this post before I head home for the day.

I watched my step-sister-in-law's current life of being a single mom with two boys, making probably $30,000/annual and recieving all types of assistance unfold piece by piece as she made her life decisions.

Decison #1 age 20: Dropped out of college, sophomore year.

Decision #2 age 24: took a job in medical billing; low earning potential. But did enroll in PT Assistant school.

Decision #3 age 25: Met and started dating a man who had 4 prior children, unmarried, criminal record of fraud.

Decision #4 age 28: Got pregnant by this man, intentionally. Still unmarried.

Decision #5: age 29: Dropped out of PT school to raise child.

Decision #6: age 32: Had another child with man during a small visit back to WI after being released from jail for another case of fraud. Her children's last names aren't even legit because his name was falsified.

Decision #7: today. This man is returning to WI and she continues to want to be with him, despite him having another child with another woman.

Because she is family, we've provided her with financial assistance numerous times. But, if she wasn't family, why would I be obligated to assist her? I watched her make lousy decision after decisions despite help and guidance that got her in her current situation. I know she is not unique in this, and I don't feel I was placed on this earth to assist people like her at my own expense.

There are only so many health care dollars to go around. Health care is not a 'right', people. It is a luxury. I think we have to get down to making some pretty hard choices pretty soon or we're going to bankrupt our health care system.

I also don't think that anyone over the age of 60 should be able to have anything but basic care. These people who take $1500/mo. (or more) worth of prescriptions as they slowly far apart -- I pay for them in taxes and insurances premiums. If I get lung cancer from having smoked 40 years, oh well, too bad. I don't expect all of you to pay for my trying to beat the odds for the next 2-5 years. It's MY responsibility.

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by researchrabbit

How about the police force? The elementary and grade schools you went to (and ate lunch at)? The roads you drive on? The pipes that deliver your water and gas? Have you ever used a public university hospital, or an MD trained at a public university hospital? Is your home loan through FHA? Do you use your voting privileges? Who do you think pays for all of this? No way you could pay for these things all on your own. We all pay for them. This is the support that you and I need, as working people and citizens. There is not a country in the world you could live in and not pay taxes. Most tax more than we do.

I am not saying we should eliminate taxes. But I am not here to support everyone else, above and beyond the things you mentioned.

And I went to private school and bagged my lunch. The pipes that deliver my water and gas are paid for on a larger scale through my property taxes and utility bills; on a smaller scale, we paid for the pipes ourselves during lot improvement and construction costs. :p

In my life the more I've given of my time, talents and treasure the more I have received in life happiness and satisfaction. Our spirits are like muscles, hold them in too tight and they cramp and contort. Any one with the time and access to use a computer and internet and post on these boards is doing pretty well in life.

In the end to hold resentment against the needy, the greedy and/or the ignorant is to limit one's own spirit. That is what all of history's great teachers have taught. We are all breathing the same air, standing on the same earth, depending on the same sun, like it or not we are all in this together. We can make ourselves sick about the unfairness of how hard we have it..... how we are doing the most and getting the least....how if only things were different.... OR

we can relax, adjust our perspective and give ourselves to love.

kumbaya. wtf....

bp too high..must quit for now.zx11pissed.gif

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

I shall refrain from commenting as my beliefs fall along the same line as Susy K's. We have had similar lives but I am a product of public education.

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