Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - and Health Care?

Headzup Satire: Andrew Card is asked about Rep. Zach Wamp's claim that healthcare is a privilege, not a right, claiming healthcare is a want, not a need:
Are you one of those who believes that health care is not a right? If so, then this is for you:
Most generally, I prefer to hold my tongue and walk away from contention. But this time I can't do it, and here is my cry out against this hub: You Do Not Have a Right to Health Care
Our Constitution states clearly "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Now, how can you possibly believe that depriving someone of medical care does not fall within the category of an outright denial of the provision of the rights guaranteed to us by the US Constitution?
Without medical care, life itself and its continuity is threatened. No one should go without medical care which can lead to their death, just because they do not have the money to pay for it. If you are deprived of medical care, you will most certainly die.
No one who has more money should be able to have medical care, and the person who has no money have to do without it.
We all have the same right to enjoy the best health possible.
A rich person's body is not more valuable than a poor person's.
Or were you born "better" than me somehow? Did you come into this world with more right to enjoy good health than I did? Should I suffer terrible pain because I have no money and you receive relief because you are rich?
Right now I have a terribly abscessed tooth which is causing me excruciating pain. It needs to be pulled. But I can not do that, because I do not have the money. And I will not have the money anytime in the near future. So I'm suffering and not able to get dental care because I have no money. So I should suffer, right? Too bad, right? Must be my own fault, right? I guess if the infection gets worse and turns into septicemia and I die from it, that's my own fault and my tough luck, too, right? I have no money and will not have any, because I am too sick to work, and have been waiting 1 1/2 years for a final decision on my Social Security Disability claim. In the meantime? No job, no income, and no medical, dental, nor vision care.
You people who keep complaining about people wanting medical care are WRONG.
Health care is NOT a corporate commodity. It is a basic need.
I'm sorry. But, you ARE selfish. And you ARE lacking in compassion for your fellow man.
Again, I ask you this question:
Would you rather your tax money went to bail out big bankers and to kill millions of innocent people in the Middle East?
Or would you rather it go to letting America's poor and elderly go to the doctor and have the medicine they need?
Some people are not able to work, they are too ill.
Some are too elderly or sick to even take care of themselves.
And babies and little kids are certainly not responsible for their lack of money.
I agree that the health care bill they are trying to get passed is WRONG!! There is no way the government should be ORDERING us to BUY health insurance plans from big corporations. That is insane. The "exchange system/public option" is a joke, too. Just a way to give the insurance companies MORE of our hard-earned money.
They think we are too stupid to know the difference. That we can't see that it is just a ploy to give big corporations even MORE control and MORE of our money.
Some people, like all of you who don't believe that poor people should have the right to health care, have fed into that BS about it being all right to "force" people to buy health care insurance, that it is not a right, that poor people "don't deserve health care", and that if poor people don't have health care, it is their own fault, etc, etc, ad nauseum...
However, what the government DOES need to do, is to regulate the percentage of profits allowed to be realized on pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health care in general.
And there need to be some regulations on the health insurance companies.
But also, we need to provide for those who are not able to pay for health care insurance either because they are too ill, elderly, poor, or are children. There is already a system in place for this. It is called Medicaid.
All that needs to be done is put regulations in place to control profits realized by big pharma and health care corporations, control health care costs, and provide a net to catch those who can't afford to buy health insurance, by expanding the scope of Medicaid enough so that the 51 million Americans who can not afford health care, can get it. (BTW in case you don't know it, there are co-pays involved with Medicaid now, it is NOT FREE!)
Stop being so damn petty and selfish.
This kind of attitude exactly, is what is wrong with this country. No compassion for your fellow man. And no love.
Grow some.
Sorry. I disagree with the points exponentiated by the adversaries of Universal Health Care.
People like you are always trying to point fingers at everyone else and act like you are somehow superior, never realizing that exactly what these 51 million other Americans are going through, can very easily happen to yourselves. I don't care how much you make, nor how much you have right now. But it can happen to you - it surely can! You can get sick, lose your home, and end up in the same unfortunate place that 51 million other Americans are in. Sick and homeless and going without health care!
Before the benefits of ANY health care bill passed now go into effect, it is estimated that another 135,000 Americans will die as a result of having no medical care. I myself will very likely be one of them.
Look me in the eye face to face and tell me I don't deserve medical care. I dare you to.
What is happening to me and millions of others can also happen to you. Know how? Just get a terminal illness. And lose your job. Use up your savings. And get to the point where you also lose your home and everything you own. And to where you MUST receive medical care and your medications or you will DIE.
Then see what happens.
I'll tell you what happens right now in this country:
You lose your home
You lose everything you have
You end up living in a tent under a bridge somewhere
You starve to death
And you do without medical care or your medications entirely
You will suffer and be so sick and in pain and no one will give a damn
Then you die all alone in the cold somewhere and no one will care about that, either
While you are waiting for Social Security Disability to decide whether or not to give you a check - which can take up to FIVE YEARS!
And also you get to listen to people like you, who think that anyone who is sick and can not afford health insurance premiums is lazy, or somehow less than you. And listen to you rant and rave about how "health care is not a right" and how letting poor, sick people have medical care is somehow "taking the money out of your pockets". And how if people are sick and can't afford medical care, then it is their own fault.
There are plenty of people who have college educations and who made good incomes, whose only fault is that they got SICK. And now they have nothing!
How do I know???
Because I am ONE of them. I am also speaking as an RN who has seen the results of the selfishness of this society. I also have several personal friends who are now dead because they could not get the medical care they needed and deserved.
Pray you don't get sick in this country.
I suggest you take a few field trips to your local county mental hospitals, nursing home facilities, jails, and childrens' homes, and you take a good look at who needs our help. You be the one to tell those poor, sick people that Americans have no compassion and no help for them. I sure won't be the one to say that to them. I dare you to do it.
I have taken care of literally THOUSANDS of helpless, sick, and poor people - people who must be taken care of, who can not fend for themselves, who need help just to bathe or get dressed. Who can not walk nor talk, nor feed themselves, who wear diapers and can not hear, see, nor even understand what you are saying. Do they not deserve our pity and our help? Most of them have family members just like you. Selfish and uncaring, who never go to see them, nor check on them, and who could not care less about them. They are "throwaways", undeserving, and somehow "less than you". They are "taking money out of your pocket" because they are lazy and looking for a "handout".
Do you not realize how many millions of people like this there are in America? There are so many millions of them that if each one of us took it upon ourselves to help just one, there would not be enough of us to go around. But most people are too selfish to understand this. And they leave it to the few of us who do care, to deal with the needs of these people. And it is not all about money. But it IS about love, compassion, and receiving the best health care they can get, to alleviate their suffering as much as possible.
NO one who is sick and hurting should have to go without the medical, dental, nor vision care that he or she needs to feel better. To feel the best that they can feel, and live the best life that they can live. Just because right now you are healthy does not mean you always will be that way. No one dies healthy, but we all get old, sick, and die in pain. All of us. So you will get there one day, too. You better pray that there will be someone like me around who will care about you and take care of you!
Open your eyes and see, and open your heart, also.
Jesus does not want us to stand by and watch our brothers and sisters suffer, and do nothing. If that is what you are doing, then you are paving the road to the eternal destruction of your own soul, not to mention the loss to humanity.
Would you begrudge your brother a glass of healing water when he is sick and thirsty?
Shame on you. God is watching.
There, now I have had my rant. Although, I think you all know by now, how I feel about this subject. And it is not only because of my own situation, but I feel this way because I love my fellow humans and can not stand to see anyone in pain or suffering.
And much less can I bear to see someone die because they were deprived of the help they needed. The help that we are very much able to give, if we were not all so selfish.
Put a little love in your heart!!!
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Health Care Reform:
Comments
All men are created equal. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Nice, broad, macro-idealism issued by wealthy aristocratic white men who left the details to our imaginations. When those words were written bleeding and leeches were popular medical practices. Living past 50 wasn't the common man's lot-especially not for woman who routinely died at childbirth. Somehow I can't imagine that medicine was universally dispensed like "doc" did it on "Little House" with Michael Landon smiling in the background.
I don't think the constitution really helps frame or further the debate for universal health care.
We as a nation have to take a deep breath and finally make some fundamental choices. Is it going to be "capitalism" or people? Is it going to be irresponsible behavior, or thoughtful logical decisions that benefit humankind. Is it going to be "Free Market" or take care of our own? Debt or responsible stewardship of our wealth and resources?
The military found out that 75% of military aged citizens could not serve due to the inability to pass the physical, prior criminal convictions or lack of proper education. Who will protect us or be able to pay for any of this in the future?
Great, There is a few things that could correct a lot of the problems.
1. The healthcare industry has become a money making machine and is losing it's focus and purpose.
2. The insurance methods have it set up to make us want to spend money in healthcare. I.e. I am spending a lot insurance, I am going to use it. Instead we need to have a better detectable system up front to discourage the use unless it is needed. I.e. My company has set up a health care fund that covers my first $500. If I don't use it, I basically lose it. Therefore they are makiing me want to use it. They should have it that I get reimbursed the amount (or at least 50%) if I don't use it.
3. Doctor's and Hospitals should be required to give the patient a cost estimate of the procedure. This allows the patient to shop around at different hospitals/Doctors. I.e. The local hospital where I live is more expensive on most procedures than St. Mary's by the Mayo Clinic. What is wrong with this picture.
3. People get a cheaper rate than billing through the insurance. My son talk to a Doctor and the cost would be about $300 if we went through the insurance, or $70 if we paid it ourself. What is wrong with this?
4. Many of the uninsured goes to the ER room when they have a problem where they cannot be denied emergency care. There should be a better way for this to be done.
5. With the liberal trying to ruin christianity, we are losing the basic concept of caring for you neighbors. We should be able to be charitable enough to take care of our needy.
6. Personal integrity also start to play a part in all of this too. When there becomes charitable means to help with healthcare cost, some abuse the system and are right out dishonest. And this has a tendency to grow worse in time. The Christian values and personal values need to be established strengthen so that this can be effective.
When I was young, my parents and neighbors did not carry health insurance as ranchers, but took care of the expenses ourselves as the happened. When a major contastrophe happened, the neighbors would pitch in and help each other cover the expense. I guess this was kind of a self-insured system.
Today, I see benefits thrown for people with major health care costs, where I have seen thousands of dollars raised to help out. This is one good thing that I see happening today, that I elate on.
Keep on hubbing!
Jesus had the right idea. He gave away health-care. Jesus gave away food. He was a financial failure. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle....
No- I don't want to call myself a Christian. I want to be more "Christ-like". I want to be more "Gandhi-like"...
I have no idea what the passage entails. I do know that republicans would, in general, rather stick a fork in their eyes than to part with their money and health care. No I'm not a democrat. At least, the very least, it is being addressed. I never voted for Clinton (or any winner, I vote third party- I refuse to throw away my vote), but at least the Clintons addressed the problem. The folks most "concentrated" in opposition to heath care seem to be in the profession. Great writing. I'm certainly against the "inaction of the WRONG WING".
Thanks for airing this burning issue. Whether or not we have a "right" to health care is not something I feel needs debating,: I think it's a given....of course we have a right to it health care, but it's how it's delivered that is the problem. And who pays for it...and should we be forced to have it?
I think I would have to agree with what Magicstar refers to as the "real" problem": Can we "...trust the Fed to represent our best interests?"
And....are all our "best Intersts" the same???
There are better ways to provide healthcare than the sleezy stupid bill we have in congress.
So do you believe every has the right to healthcare, food, shelter, school, and clothing without the capability to pay for them. If so, I guess I will quit may job and start demanding these things? Why am I working for all these things when the government should just give it to me free. And they must include a car and gas, because I need a way to go the store and the doctor.
Or wait the government is not giving healthcare to me. They demand that I pay for it, and if I don't I will be fined, and possible go to jail. Or I don't have the right to deny healthcare if I don't want it?
And does this mean I will have to start going to the doctor the goverment says I must go to, even if he is a quack? And why is the congress on the same healthcare as we are?
Government can't run medicare without it being full of corruptions, and we want them to take care of the rest of us? So who will take advantage of this, the big industries you claimed you disliked up above.
Is the president doing this for the right reason, or for power grap and to turn our country into socialism.
Yes, things are bad here for healthcare, but most government country health care systems are worse. I have several Canadian friends, and they say the wait for everything. Most procedures have over a 2 year waiting list. So they basically have nicknamed their healthcare system "The No Healthcare System" To think this goverment take over of our healthcare is going to change things, think again.
Social Security in Canada is broke. They are getting checks every 3-4 months instead of every month.
We need to wake up and do this healthcare reform the right way, and not with what Pelosi, Reid and Obama is forcing down our throats. They need to slow down and take a better look at this. Most polls show that a majority of the people are against the current bills.
Keep on hubbing!
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