Thursday, November 10, 2011

Health care for the poor: Who wants it and whose responsibility is it?

In the United States of America, many people cannot afford even basic health insurance. They suffer severely under the present system and have to live under the constant fear of not knowing what they will do if they or their loved ones ever fall seriously ill.

Public programs to help poor Americans obtain medical care have evolved as the country has grown richer and medical advances have increased life expectancy and improved quality of life but the evolution has not been a direct path of increased generosity towards poor people.
Instead, it reflects a mix of philosophical beliefs, greater understanding of the links between health and ability to work, and swings in the economy. Trillions of tax dollars have been spent fighting poverty, but instead of encouraging people to get jobs and get themselves out of a financial rut, the welfare system creates conditions favorable to pregnancy, childbirth and illegitimacy. The "safety net" has become a hammock for the laziest people in our society.

Another aspect of this issue is not just the cost of healthcare, but who is paying for it, where does the money come from, and where does it go? It seems a truism that somehow, the burden of healthcare costs is on all of us here in the US, but how is this burden divided? And if there is money to be saved, who will reap the benefits? Taxpayers? Employers contributing to healthcare coverage? Employees share premium costs themselves? Insurance company stockholders? Not so clear. Read more....

6 comments:

  1. It's a toss up...Most poor people I know who are sick have done it to themselves with drinking, drugs, smoking or eating crap that inflates them like balloons and breaks them down from inside.

    I know so many 30 year olds with the bodies of 50 year olds...Waddling around complaining or hell go to a SSA/Welfare office and tell me how people look...Most don't take care of themselves and the information is EVERYWHERE...TV, books, radio but people never listen till some health scare happens.

    On the other hand as a bean counter those sick people who usually don't have coverage end up flooding the Emergency Rooms and community clinics where we the taxpayers end up footing the bill.

    Case in point so many people wouldn't pay the ER in my county (Monterey) that the main hospitals closed down the Trauma Center and now when it's a major injury they have to be flown out to San Jose by helicopter...Don't ask how much.

    So if we had Free Medical Coverage it should lower the costs of all since whatever was being spen on inflated prices should go down but to trust the government is to want to get screwed.

    I say do INS sweeps of illegals and in California your taxpayer costs will drop by at least 20%.

    Vasectomys for paroling inmates in trade for time off their sentence and a cash bonus...Make drug testing be mandatory for Medical, Medicare and SSI...So many will drop off the books.

    Make aid for teens who get pregnant hard to get...In my area a 19 year old with 2-3 kids is common...Each of those kids costs the taxpayer 30k for the birth PLUS WIC, SSI, Medicare, Food Stamps, Section 8 and as they grow up 6-8k per school year.

    Make things harder and people will HAVE to take care of their health or honestly die miserably...Personal choice means personal responsibility.

    Note: Talking about most major killers that can all be usually controlled such as lung cancer, heart attacks, prostate cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure etc.

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  2. No problem. I love working 40 hours a week so the poor can get free health care, food, housing, pot, childcare, college, etc. I love it so much I think the federal government should tax me more. If 20 million more illegal aliens come over the border, no problem, I will get two jobs and support them too. After all isn't that what America is all about: Some people have to work and pay so others can get free stuff and not have to work???

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  3. Another thing that is scary beside the increasing misery and ignorance is the abnormal aging.

    Despite what some in the medical community like to delude people with, people are aging faster than ever.

    Today you see many 30 year olds as Noodle mentioned who look like they're 50. The average 18 - 20something year olds appear to be approaching 40.

    Being fat, depressed, excessive partying/drinking, and/or too much Sun will really take away your youth.

    Interestingly when you look at Asians, people in Japan for instance, at 40 you could mistake them to be 20, at 60 they can look 40. But that isn't because they look younger, it's because they're normal and take better care of themselves.

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  4. @12:24 Not to get too much off topic but as I've noticed the acelerated aging by kids in their 20's I've also see people say 35 and younger lose all manners and morals.

    Now I was a bartender so I'm no saint but I have never seen so many people lie, steal, pretend and not care...I think the meds and over processed food has made a large part of the population into semi-sociopaths.

    It's not TV, movies, bad parents...People are just being born evil...Sounds weird but I stand by it...For awhile I was fine with it because I was dating young women because young guys were dirty, sleazy, moody, whiny and users then I noticed so were the young women I was dating.

    However, you go elsewhere in the world where they don't eat the chemicals and hormones like we do here and people are so much more real, smart and sweet even in a poor barrio, ghetto or slum.

    Ok ok getting off my soap box.

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  5. lol. 12:24 here. You sound rare, an individual.

    Pretty much agree with the degeneracy, I also find something abnormal about it.

    As far as being born evil, there have been sages/saints throughout history to predict time periods like this. The content is less jejune than the Biblical ones.

    Read the Hua Hu Ching to get the best analysis of an "end times" scenario. The Hopi and other Native American shamans long ago described people being born without souls. One account said men would have no "life in their eyes."

    It was said too that people of a pure heart would be the only ones to survive the cataclysm, and would become an increasing minority. A little bit like Michael Jackson's Thriller, which was actually his perception of the loss of God.

    Then again not every country is suffering from a tragic population. I'm only 24, but I know enough older men who talk to me about how crappy things and people in general have become. From when I was little I recall better conversations amongst adults, people were more "connected" with others and themselves, and I used to stay home alone when I was seven.

    Hell, my sister would never let her 11 year old stay home alone, and nobody wants it otherwise. Serial killers and pedophiles were not prevalent fears 15 years back. How fast things can go sour.

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  6. I'm glad to see so many people understand that a main problem is the processed "food" we all buy and eat. I try to take plenty of vitamins and minerals to counter their effect. Plus all the doctors know is how to write prescriptions. If you read the pharmacist's sheet for any pill, the list of side effects is truly scary.

    I don't think the lack of morality has anything to do with religion. It's all about culture, and real culture is no longer taught in the schools. And it's also about what has happened to the economy over the last 30 years. It used to be that the husband alone could earn enough to support a family. Now a wife has to work too. So who is around to take care of and educate the kids? Nothing except television. If you have Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, and hip-hop artists as role models, what do you expect?

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