USA: Are you For or Against Universal Health Care?

Question

I have no real care one way or another here but we all know free medicine is not free....it comes from the tax payers one way or another be it from government aid or raising costs because hospitals have to provide free services to those without insurance.

So are you For or Against this? Why? How do you think the US medical structure should look?

Brandie J> so people who cannot afford health care should not get it? Just looking for clarification here

Answer 1

The only reason I am for universal health care is because our economy is unstable and insecure. People are changing jobs more often. People with serious illnesses (cancer, etc.) lose coverage. Our current system is wrought with serious flaws.
I don't know if universal health care is the perfect solution but it is a necessary one. It's more important than all of the wars that we end up paying for. Health care should not be free for anyone. We all have to pay. But one problem is that salaries/wages are not growing as quickly as the cost of living (gas, groceries, utilities, health insurance, taxes, etc.).
This is a serious problem. We the people must come back together and do something. But first we must understand the issue and the problems. Don't just discount it. Let's talk and move forward together. We should be able to see how difficult it is for our congress men and women. We have to look hard at where our government has gone (to big business). We need more of a balance, don't you think? I'd say that we are way out of balance, to the extreme.

Answer 2

Universal Health Care is not quite the right title. Universal Health Care seems to mean a single payer system like Canada. Few people or candidates are talking about Universal Health Care. Hillary, Obama and Edwards all suggest programs that insure that everyone is covered by health care but how they are covered is different. The Employer based system we use now is part of Hillary's plan, but that covers only those that are working or have dependents who are covered under the employees program.
Medicare would also be expanded to cover many of the unemployed and homeless folks without coverage otherwise. So it is a patch work system that ads up in time to 100% coverage.
It is the patchwork system that most Democrats envision as workable and better than single payer.
However, the necessity of everyone having 100% health care system in America is what is really driving the need for everyone to be connected to the health system in America. Why, because of several reason. It is right that America insures that everyone in America has health care. It is a necessity that everyone is covered in America because the occurrences of contagious diseases are growing and becoming more critical every day.
Also, it costs more money to allow people to go untreated and unexamined than it does to require that everyone is covered and does see a doctor and be examined on a regular bases.
This is why we are going to have something like Universal Health Care in America. It is in the best interest of all Americans to be protected by an enforced way of life that includes regular medical care for everyone in America.

Answer 3

I don't think of health care as a univeral right. Right now every patient gives money into the system that helps develop drugs in the private system, which history has shown us is a much better innovator than the government. Every person that comes to use the "universal" system would be a hinderance on the system - taking money out instead of putting it in. You mentioned you know about "the people with 5 kids, drug abusers, etc." but you offer no plan on why we need to help them along with the middle class families. Should it be a blanket "right" for everyone to have healthcare. What if you smoke, drink, snort coacaine, and sleep with prostitutes and I do none of those things. I can not see how giving the same coverage free to each case is fair or right at all.

Answer 4

Health care should be the number one priorty. Taking care of its citizens in the longrun will not hurt but help America by providing healthier people who eventually wont be having to take so much medication and unnecessary operations. A manditory national health care system which should be applied for and provided with medical cards with photo. No medical attention will be provided without card and persons trying to should be reported to different government agencies. Illegals will be noticed. For humanitarian reasons, persons without cards will be provided care but should be reported to different government agecies. Action will be taken. Cost of health care should be a monthly "donation" of fixed nature that can be payed for by all classes. Meaning one price fits all.( If the US government has had all these billions all this time to fight the war in Iraq, then why hasn't US had the money for national health care system or even to better the educational system.) Malpractice suits in national health care system should also be limited, meaning each different law suit has fixed amount a person can obtain. Hospitals should be built (with the billions US has) in order to decrease long lines, long appointments. Minihospitals is also an option with outpatient services. Doctors, nurses should be offered incentives.

With the high cost of medical services now in US, and
" the people" being the most important asset a country has, providing exceptional health care to all should be highly considered.

Answer 5

It sounds great, I agree...just in the same way that communism sounds great...in theory.

In practice, however, socialized medicine doesn't work, or at least not very well.

Like the author said, the money has to come from somewhere and that somewhere is from the taxpayers.

I don't have any simple answer of what the government should do about this, but I do think that the current system has serious flaws and the insurance industry is equally f'd up.

Answer 6

FOR

We already paying outrageous premiums as well as employers who are paying into it to keep good employees. Nothing is free. Why not take that and use it to pay for everyone? Why should we have to go through our employer for coverage? Why should we have to worry about being denied for chronic medical conditions? I think in the long run it would end up costing us less.

I don't think that dental care should be a privilege, everyone should be able to go to the dentist or the doctor without fear of becoming bankrupt.

Answer 7

FOR. It should be a basic human right. I'm for John Edward's plan (http://johnedwards.com/issues/health-care/health-care-fact-sheet/). I'll pay for my own health insurance and I don't think we need to raise taxes or premiums to do it. If you actually read up on it, we're way behind the rest of the "civilized" world on this. Doctors get paid more, we pay more and the quality of care is, on average, lower than Canada and Europe.

Edit: You said it "Golden"! Hear here!

Answer 8

totally for. i couldn't look in the mirror in the morning if i said otherwise.

one respondent here voices the opposition i've heard from so many on this site. "I'm not going to pay for somebody else... ," my god, if she comes upon a tragic accident and is the only one around to help the injured, she gets out a clipboard and interviews them first. "do you exercise? smoke? drink? what kind of diet plan are you on?" one wonders what other contraints she puts upon the needy.

someone else summed it up quite well, "a society can be judged by how it treats its worst off." it would seem that some would keep us in the dark ages. i don't care what it costs, we must begin to move forward or we will surely move backward, and the rest of the world will leave us behind.

Answer 9

We should have universal health care for everyone. Why should anyone be afraid to go to the doctor because they don't have insurance. Think of how much better things would be if everyone was more healthy. Who cares if you have to pay a tax for it, Whats the difference between paying a tax and paying for insurance?

It has been said that a society can be judged by how it treats its worst off.

Answer 10

Against it if its supplied by the government. If it is done at the initiative of private citizens I'd support since then doctors wouldn't be forced to choose between government insured patients and privately insured patients, and it would prevent those who don't need the coverage to not add to the cost of it. Anyone citizen organized organizations just tend to work better than government programs.