Sunday, December 30, 2007

Life And Death Decisions

Is health care a right or a privilege? If you have health insurance, shouldn't it cover you, no matter what? Otherwise, what's the point? After the last few weeks of stories of insurance denials and their tragic consequences, why are people still paying for health insurance? A cubicle clerk with no medical training routinely makes decisions overruling the doctor.

Doctors and nurses spend years learning about the human body and the many things that can go wrong with it. All so that their professional opinions are worth less than someone who fills out forms and plays on the internet on company time. The system is broken.

Everybody should have access to decent health care. Rich, poor, young, old, white, black, male or female. Period. A person shouldn't have to pass a credit check, have a credit card, cash or insurance in order to receive medical or dental services. Having insurance is no guarantee of service if you get ill and while insurance companies don't mind sentencing a child to die due to neglect, it is against the law to abuse children. If the parents were withholding food, they would be prosecuted. Why is this different?

A healthy population is more productive and in the long run will generate more income for business, other than the insurance companies, than letting little problems become big medical issues that require an emergency room visit. That isn't cost effective at all. But it is all we have.

3Bs

2 comments:

  1. I had to give up my health insurance when the premiums were increased to just under $700.00 a month - no one on the policy other than myself. I was lucky. As a Nam vet I had the VA as fallback. Most aren't so lucky.

    I do think the system, meaning the costs, needs to be brought under control at the same time. Everything from an aspirin on is horribly over-priced; far in excess of anything remotely justifiable.

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  2. I find the disconnect between the pro-lifers and their actions to be absolutely baffling. Everything to make sure a child is born but once it arrives it's every man for himself. They actually believe in survival of the fittest (until it affects them) but just call it another name.

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