Free Healthcare? Whats your opinion?

Question

Id like to know your opinion on free healthcare. Do you support it or think its not pragmatic? do you think that it would not be as effective as our current system? Speak on it please!!

Heres my opinion. Free healthcare is vital, and should be supported by the bill of rights. Everyone has a right to life. Furthermore, if healthcare was a utopian dream, then why does it work in Canada? in France? in Germany? in Finland? in Sweden?
Each of these countries has no where close the vast amount of wealth the US has...

Kamma- Your wrong. The quality of healthcare in France and Great Britain is far better than the healthcare here. Furthermore, there are 100 million people here who have NO healthcare. ANY healthcare however insufficient, is better than no healthcare for about 1/3 of the country.

LadySunshine- Yes that is a drawback. But there are also vast amounts of people in the US who damage their health because of unhealthy eating habits. The fact is, there is no need to punish smokers and drinkers. Even though they are a drain on society, they still deserve to live.

Flyguy- you are articulate, but you tend to exaggerate. Wheres your proof that you have to wait a year and a half for healthcare in canada? What about france and great britain and finland's healthcare?? Also, what you dont understand is that top ONE PERCENT of this country controls about EIGHTY PERCENT of the nations wealth. If you tax the wealthy nice and high, copious funds will be available everywhere. Furthermore, the war in Iraq has cost HUNDREDS of billions of dollars... Can you imagine how good US healtcare would be if we spent just an extra 100 billion dollars on it???? The truth is, the US has vast amounts of wealth that can be used for more healthcare and education.

Fly guy- I have family in Great Britain. My Great Aunt and her mother live there (58 and 90). I have to say, they would have died here a while ago...

Answer 1

Nothing is free. Nothing. And trying to make Healthcare "free" would be catastrophic. Free Healthcare is not vital...it's not proven to work...and it's not all candy canes and lollipops as you claim it to be. I know people in countries that have free, universal healthcare. They don't get near the quality that American's get, and their systems are shakier than John Kerry's political stances.

EDIT: Please don't run from the facts. It's not my job to pay for someone else's healthcare. Nor is it the job of corporations to provide "free" healthcare.

Answer 2

Health care in those countries is supported by a much different tax system. The problem with this country is the politicians permitted th large corporations to back out of health care and retirement plans in the interest of big dividends for stockholders. Instead of making corporations set aside funds for those programs that could not be touched the trusty democrats left all those programs to be pushed off on the taxpayers. Check out the way the democratic congress took the burden of big business and left them squander the money on other things. The American taxpayer is going broke with the medicare and medicaid systems and the people who are really making money, the middle class is getting the shaft again. More than any other group the middle class is stuck in a vice. They pay more for less and it does not look good in the future. The low income people end up on government programs for free medical attention while the middle class has to pay outrageous prices for health care. The AMA will not let the country get total medical coverage.

Answer 3

Free health care is not "free" ... it's paid for by taxes ... but since the tax base is very broad, you are literally talking about pennies on everybody's tax bill ... that's the way it works in Britain, where health care is totally free, and in the rest of Europe, where it's heavily subsidised ... of course it would work here too ... but as usual, it's money before the people ... and before someone says that there are long waiting lists, the care is not as good etc., a report published only last month showed that the health care in Britain is far superior to that of the U.S., the British people were healthier, and lived longer ... go figure....

Answer 4

"why does it work in Canada?" Do you know someone who lives in these countries? Free health care is the biggest scam of all. If you live in Canada you better not get sick because it will take a year and a half to see a doctor. Want to see a specialist? Forget it, they don't exist in free health care. All doctors are general doctors not specialists. Yes I think everyone should have access to health care, but look at government. Everything they do is two things, extremely slow, and extremely expensive. Free? You think it would actually be free? You think that people are magically going to donate years of there lives and billions of dollars worth of products to fund this "free" health care? Yeah right. This "free" health care is going to have to be paid for by our taxes. So that means either a major increase in your taxes because health care is extremely expensive or major cuts in government funding for things like education, jobs, roads, etc.... Everything is much more efficient in the private sector. And that is where health care should stay. We should rather work on programs to help lower income families to have more access to private health care.

I have family that lives in Canada. I know from experience. They tell me how bad it is and how much Americans complain about our system. I have proof, wheres yours?

Answer 5

Free healthcare...you get what you pay for.

Seriously, besides all the very valid statements about quota systems and waiting lists in "free healthcare" countries, there is another point that we can learn from our "free" system here. The military healthcare system was absolutely free for members and their families for many years. And as a result it was horribly abused. People come to ERs for aspirin, decongestants, etc., so they don't have to buy it over-the-counter. They come to the ERs and clinics for the most ridiculously innocuous ailments...sniffly noses, small cuts, sprains, etc. They don't worry about their own self-responsibility in staying healthy because if they get sick as a result of their lifestyle, the doctors will make them better or give them a magic pill so they can go back to their old habits.

When healthcare is free, health is taken for granted.

Answer 6

Free public health care in not really free it is like one big group plan. With everyone in one large group the cost saving are tremendous. It has to be crafted very carefully so the treatment decisions are between the doctor and patiet and not decided by a board like am HMO plan. Most developed counties in the World have a national health plan and they work. The hang up in the US is that the current system is very lucrative for the health care industry of which most is privately owned.

Answer 7

There is no such thing as free health care; this is a lie told by liberals who want the tax payer to pay for their health care. Just because the government pays for something does not mean it is free. It means that me and other hard working tax payers will pay for those who are looking for a free ticket to life.

I can't believe the people on this site saying health care is a right;
that is the liberal attitude 100% they think they have a right to a free hand out.

Answer 8

I agree with nyou in that free health care is vital.Varying socio-economic status withi society means that free healthcare would allow everyone the right to good health, simply not discriminating against the lesser wealthy families. It would promote a more healthy community, a safer community and the prevalence of longer life expectancy would be hiigher

Answer 9

Yes wouldn't it be great, if there were such a thing as Free Health Care. But it's not Free in Canada it's taken out in taxes Right? Not FREE. Yes I do certainly feel the U.S. needs to do the same or similar as Canada. Hope So Soon!

Answer 10

It's not free it's paid for with taxes. Currently you can choose your own doctors and you can negotiate how much you are willing to pay. If socialized medicine(what it's really called) is used you won't know how much is being wasted of your tax dollars. It eventually breaks a country financially to provide that sort of service.