Should government be involved with health care?

Question

We had a president in the past who refused to sign a bill that would have provided widows government support. Such people turned towards charity, where they did find refuge.

Government health care isn't the best either. One just has to look at countries that practice it and see. Cuba for example.

I know now that it's already in place, it's harder to imagine being without it. But if we had to start over again, would you rather have it, or would it have been better that we kept government our of our health affairs and deciding what's best for us on a budget?

It should read "kept government our of our health affairs"....
sorry about the typos...

Answer 1

I think that they should at least pony up the funds - but keep it up to the DOCTORS, HOSPITALS, and MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS to actually RUN things...

Answer 2

I'm totally against big brother government, but I think ALL people are entitled to healthcare. I'm not sure if a government run agency would do the best job, at least not in America where our system is horribly corrupt. A system run BY the people FOR the people with no input from pharmaceutical companies is the best bet. Obviously, income would need to be considered, but only after the poverty level has been raised.

Frankly, its shocking that we live in the wealthiest country in the world and we still have children that are starving and without healthcare. We should all be ashamed of ourselves! There is no excuse for such an atrocity. I hear people blame the parents, whining, "Well, they should get a job so they can feed their kids and get insurance." This is wrong on several points. For one, these kids didn't get to PICK their parents, are not accountable and should not suffer because of it. Second, I know plenty of people working 2-4 jobs that don't qualify for healthcare from their employers, nor do they qualify for a government assisted healthcare plan because their meager income is too high. Ridiculous!

Answer 3

I don't believe government controlling personal healthcare should be. But I do believe the government should finance it.

All through history immigrants and the poor have been expected to work their butts off for little pay. Instead of having healthcare that could possibly prevent or cure an illness they work until they are no longer feasibly able or die. Why should a security guard make little more than minimum wage and have no healthcare yet be expected to guard millions? Is a CEO's life worth more than those who provide the product he promotes just because he had the advantage of a higher education & there are less of his kind? Should a man fired because he's sick and couldn't afford to go to a dr. be unable to get help just because he's over 18 and has no kids to support?

There were problems before HMOs took over. They simply heightened it by being for profit. I have a state of the art hospital in my town that's been featured in Working Mother's magazine & has been elected to the top 100 of the country's hospitals. It's non-profit, state of the art equipment, top notch drs. from around the country, give out all kinds of free health screenings and is constantly buying and building. Yet they only receive 1/2 of what a profit hospital receives. Their drs. are paid a salary instead of by number of patients. So I don't believe for a minute hospitals would go broke or have to close down.

Under the Hill Burton Act an ER can't refuse to treat you simply because you have no insurance or ability to pay. So many when they need medical treatment go to an ER which is 3-4 (if not more) times expensive and the government reimburses them. It's been proven $10. is spent on nursing homes by the government for every $1. spent on in home care. But if you have little to no assets the government will pay for a nursing home but not home health care. Then the government sets a limit on nursing home beds available in the state (called CONs) so there is little competition. Most stay packed and if abusive rarely fined & collected or closed down because of the need.

If businesses paid a portion of profits instead of having to fund insurance they would see more profits. With basic coverage more insurers would have to compete to sell better premium insurance that because it's not needed would be more affordable to all who wanted it.

Drug companies now are helping the poor but what about those who have prescription coverage but the co-pay is so high they still can't afford it? Or need the newer drugs that aren't covered under their plan? They don't help them. A person truly dedicated to finding a cure wouldn't stop just because they were doing it for the government. It would also cut down on frivilous liability lawsuits for something that MIGHT have caused problems and require proof.

There are plenty of ways to do it right. But it's going to take some real representatives of the people to do it. Though it might cost more at first because of all the band aids we've put on festering wounds but in the long run it will make us more properous as well as compassionate as a nation.

In the 70s England had basic coverage. Glasses, dental, physicals, etc. You could also buy additional insurance to cover other stuff if you wanted. So why couldn't we do that here? Health care even more so than gas should be something that's never out of reach of those in need. We do it for other countries yet not our own. How sad is that?

Answer 4

For many years I've made it a habit when I ran across a Canadian to ask whether they'd like to get rid of their government managed health insurance program and so far I've yet to hear one Canadian answer yes. I've also not noticed any popular movements in the other industrial countries to get rid of their health insurance programs. And from my experience working in Cuba I didn't get the impression Cubans would rather dump their health system and be on their own. Certainly it's vastly better than that of Mexico and other nearby countries.

If government can put men on the moon, we should not shrink from demanding that it provide health care just as the military, Congress, and other privileged groups are provided.

Answer 5

Living in the UK I can honestly say that I could not live without the NHS. The Government do not "control" our healthcare, they finance it, and we can always opt out of using the NHS and go private any time we want if we can afford it. We can even use insurance like you Americans do if we have the money to pay for it.

Where I live wages are low and it is hard to find a well paid job. Most of us could not afford to pay private healthcare. So the peace of mind of knowing that if we are ill or need treatment then we can get it on the NHS with no worrying about how much it will "cost" is priceless. You can still have private healthcare if you have the money to pay for it. But for everyone else the NHS is there to look after you and its wonderful. I could not live under the American system, unless I was rich!

I thank God for the NHS! Most Brits do.

Actually, some_yank, if you need a bypass in the UK and you have the money you pay privately and go now. And if its essential to save your life you won't have to wait on the NHS either. Get your facts rights please!

Answer 6

This really is a great question. I'm going to give a kind of mixed answer.

I believe government at various levels should regulate health care providers, licensing doctors and nurses, etc. and setting standards for health insurance.

I also think it is reasonable to set standards for employee health insurance plans and to make group health insurance available to as many people as possible. This should not be a part of government, but government should set the guidelines and license providers of health insurance.

The government should not provide health care. I do think government and society in general should do something that is not done enough, however, and that is to encourage preventative health care. When necessary state-managed clinics might be the best avenue for doing this, but I don't favor that if other ways are readily available.

We could do this through schools or through programs similar to the current indigent health care.

All efforts should be directed at keeping health care as affordable and available as possible. This includes dental care, which is often overlooked in discussing health care.

But it should not be a government program beyond simple oversight designed to protect the public from unscrupulous insurance or medical providers.

Answer 7

I live in a country that has health care and it is the best in the world, I am looked after from the moment of conception until i am buried.
haven't had to call on the health service much i and my family have been lucky.
just lets say i have a break down tonight and spend the rest of my life in care cost to my family NIL its been paid for by my and other taxes
Accident hospital for the nest 30 years millions spent on one to one care price nothing its been paid for.
We even get Americans over here because its a free service.
So if I was you i think AGAIN and stop being greedy

Answer 8

I think government should be involved with health care....


They should be passing laws to stop the highway robbery going on... A doctor's office visit bill I got this week (for a simple consultation) was billed to my insurance as $230.00.

They say healthcare costs are out of control... Okay, control them. Just like your auto repair mechanic, they shouldn't charge more than double the price you pick it up for at the store. That means the hospital could charge 20 cents for a bandaid, not $12.00/ea.




g-day!

Answer 9

I can't understand why Americans are so opposed to an NHS style system of healthcare. We take it for granted here in Britain (some moan a bit about it, but I for one won't - I used to work for them). If they didn't exist, I would had died back in 1992.
Oh of course - hating Cuba is more important that treating the citizens of the US, isn't it?
What a twisted mentality.

Answer 10

No! The government is not in the health care business and will not be. Look at the crappy care people get in countries with socialized medicine.

Need a bypass in USA.....you go now.

Need one in Canada, England, Ireland (the list goes on) take a number and hope for the best.

Answer 11

Government : from the root word "govern". Meaning to control, restrain, manage, oppress.

Government is the antithesis of personal freedom and should be restricted wherever possible. Our founding fathers understood this, that is why the set up the Constitution to protect us FROM the government. Too bad they don't teach that in schools any more.