Question for my Liberal friends?

Question

I call you my friends because 1/2 my friends are liberal thinkers. I find people with different points of view far more interesting. Unlike this forum, my personal relationships are truly real and are based on mutual respect for each other & I think you would agree we treat each better in person.

with that said, here is my question:

Nearly all of my liberal friends HATE the government involvement in our personal lives..NOT in our bedrooms, NOT in our religious beliefs. They have faught for and demand a strong fence between themselves and government. I'm sure most of you would agree, liberals have taken the lead in civil rights, social issues etc.

My question is, why then would so many (not all) be so willing to allow government into our most private area of our lives, our health-care. Why are you so willing to allow government to keep records of our health.

That's my question, and I hope you don't think (as many are) this is some baited question..it's not!

thanks !

Answer 1

Very valid question. I'd like to answer, but first I want to state that I cannot speak for all the "liberal minded" folks here, just myself...

However idealistic it is to have this collective vision (shared by both liberals AND conservatives) of a small, uninvolved central government, I realize it is impractical for the real world... We as citizens already pay taxes for our public resources like our national security, roads, libraries, schools or what have you, and I feel that health care should be on the same playing field. It should be a massively PUBLIC enterprise, not private one.

Why? Morally, I believe each person has the right to be as healthy as possible. Constitutionally, I believe this system already exists; think "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" with a heavy emphasis on LIFE... i.e. the protection of life, which is a power granted to our central government. (Another reason why I think Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional, but I digress...)

I feel the same about social security, too; it is not something I want in the hands of the private sector to potentially destroy. The government is the only entity, I think, that can be accountable for keeping it safe and manageable, at least for the time being. (It will eventually need an overhaul, yes, but I do not think the SS "crisis" is as big as people claim it to be; we're good for another 30-40 years.)

Answer 2

I compare national healthcare to social security and Medicare. I think most Americans (bot Republican and Democrat) agree that these are valid institutions to benefit a individual BUT also the community. The introduction of these two programs had curbed down the poverty levels in the United States during the 1960's and we have not reached the poverty levels since like we had before they were enacted.

National Healthcare can realisticically be administered by a capitalist government as we have seen in the free market economies in Europe and Canada and elsewhere. One thing that should be considered whether our current private medical insurance is working. Over time are we paying more money for less service? For most Americans this has been the case over the last 20 years. Each year more and more employers are not even sharing the costs anymore (and the average person can not afford insurance if there employer does not share the cost). More and more Americans are not renewing medical policies as a result of this. It is believed that 30% of the nation is uninsured.

I don't necessarilly agree that national healthcare is the answer but something has to change... and I am certainly open to hearing about united healthcare. I live in a big city that provides a community healthcare system and my property taxes are high as a result... The surrounding counties' pricvate hospitals are cnstantly transporting their uninsured to our hopsital (why build their own when they have a great community health network here?)... my point is that I am still paying taxes that medically benefit people I don't know... at the same time I feel a responsibility to share with providing for my community and help people, otherwise I would move.

BTW, I am not a liberal... I am a moderate to conservative person that tends to look at all political issues under a economic light. I do know that my medical benefits are more expensive today and my coverage is severely diminished from 10 years ago. I would certainly entertain the idea of universal healthcare. My wife is Canadian and we have seen firsthand the benefits of their system. It certainly isn't like the picture that people on Yahoo (or Lmbaugh or O'Reilly) make it out to be. If you don't believe me then look at the medical stats at www.who.org

As far as medical records and the privacy of them: Medicare is a government institution and cn access the records you mention. Also, a federal court could certainly make a motion for a hospital to release medical records without your permission. And think about how many insurance people (without any medical technical skills) have access to your records. I don'tthink privacy would be an issue.

Answer 3

Doctors and hospitals already keep a record of patients. Insurance companies also keep health information of clients. Anyone who has served in the military has a health record in government files. So I have to ask why you believe health information is private. If anything it is probably only slightly less public then credit information which is an equally sensitive matter. It is true that your conversations with a doctor and medical records are privileged but the records may still be subpoenaed under certain circumstances. If someone keeps a record then they intend to use it for some purpose. We do not question medical records because they make sense. If you go to a hospital unconscious you would like the doctor to know if you’re allergic to a drug or taking a prescription. Their ignorance of something like that could easily kill you. How do you suppose they know? They ask for and receive your medical records.
As I understand your question, your concern is medical records becoming public information. I hate to tell you this but they are already held by public services and are already used for research, statistics, demographics, risk analysis, and marketing. How much more public do you need?

Answer 4

I doubt your liberal friends would agree that what is being proposed is Socialized medicine. They would probably remind you that what is being proposed is AFFORDABLE health care managed by the health care providers and not the insurance companies, as much of it is today, and not by the government. Unfortunately in the case of medicare there is government intervention because people cannot afford to buy health insurance and must have medical care or they will die or suffer greatly. Senator Obama, for example, will involve the insurance, medical, and phamaceutical industries in the design of the AFFORDABLE healthcare program. The government will simply be a regulator and arbitor for the program. We cannot allow our people to suffer and die merely because they can't afford high healthcare costs. We need to control the amount of awards in lawsuits against medical service providers and we need to put a lid on the cost of drugs and excessive cost due to people going to the emergency room because they know they will be treated but have no money. Who pays for those emergency visits? You and I do through higer costs borne by us. Had the person not needed to go to emergency to get treatment and it was done early enough to prevent an emergency situation the cost would have been much lower. Done properly medical records can be safe and secure. Unfortunately hackers have gotten into computers containing much more sensitive stuff than medical records so a system will need to be devised to ensure the best possible security and available only to those who actually have a need to know.

Answer 5

I think most liberals who are engaged in politics and the world around them do indeed have private health insurance and are happy with it.

They have a compassion for people who do not and are willing to sacrifice some measure of their wealth and convenience for the sake of helping others. They know that a healthy society benefits us all.

The rub comes when they are too rigid to see that the method is flawed. Those that they would entrust to make it happen have a much grander motive.

You just can not trust them with that crack in the door. They will use it as a vehicle to make ALL our decisions for us.
Health Care is interdependent on all other government agencies and they would all grow exponentially as a result.
It is inevitable.
Compare the number of government agencies between 1920 and the post FDR era and the pattern is clear to see.

Answer 6

Because, all though or medical information is valuble it holds less of a threat than alot of other personal information. Also for all the middle class that have to make choices of health care or other day to day basic needs. They have to roll the dice to make any financial advancment or merely financially exist. It would also encourage small buisness venture's. If your presented with the choice of attempting a new venture or keeping your job with benifits you have to protect your family and keep that job.
Plus the gov would not be holding your records. The gov approved provider would be. As well as now with the new freedoms of the gov to collect your data due to the patriot act, if they want anything on you they will get it. Medical records should be the least of your concerns.

Answer 7

Yep, it is a good question. But I think it may not be entirely accurate. It is my understanding that the government wants to insure all Americans have health care. The only records they would be able to see are those that are as a result of a patient seeing a government provided doctor. A government mandated health care program is far different than one in which the government is your provider (doctor, hospital, etc ). The two are different things. It is like in California, all drivers have to have car insurance, but who they have it with is the driver's business. The drivers' need only prove they have it with an insurance company.

Answer 8

They have had that information for some time now. That isn't our focus with this Universal kick. When you sign that form when you go to the doctor's office... your saying you know they have all your records, you know all your rights and they won't do anything bad without your consent.

Our kick with Universal health care is all about making sure everyone can get a doctor instead of having to wait for things to get worse and hit up the ER. So it's about funding and prevention.

Again.. the government has had your private records for years now.. Universal Health Care won't change anything dealing with that.

Answer 9

If you haven't noticed our health care system is broken. If your rich, or work for a big company, great. If your poor or self employed, you live in fear of sickness. We're actually a third world country when it comes to infant mortality.
Our government has been keeping the health records of our service men and veterans for years without any problems. I don't see that they have suffered.

Answer 10

Our system of health-care has been a market failure. There is NO market solution that is moral.

Single-payer proposals only call for the nationalization of health insurance. This puts us all in the same insurance pool, spreading the costs and the risks most rationally. Our current insurance system has incentives to charge you for a service they don't want to deliver to maximize their profits. This would be like paying McDonald's for hamburgers but watching them never deliver them to you to make their shareholders happy. It's a fleecing of the nation that must end.