Should Healthcare be Universal?

I recently went to the doctor for a shoulder injury I suffered during a recent martial arts competition, I became very disillusioned with the idea of Universal healthcare. I watched one after another 300 pound patient walk through the door. I then headed for work on the train during the mid-day. This trip further reminded me of the millions of Americans that have been unemployed for so long that the 9% unemployment rate does not contemplate them. Yet should people who do not have the opportunity or willingness to provide our society with gainful skills be provided healthcare at the expense of society?

We as humans, have “human rights”. We as Americans have the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. We as citizens have the right to self improvement through education for the purpose having a skill to contribute to society for a sustaining level of income.

Many of us who have chosen to not pursue the mastery of a skill that can bring us income may suffer a heavy burden of financial immobility. This group of ill prepared people struggle and wallow in their own defeat. They often times want others to carry their burden through taxation and income redistribution. Those of us who work hard for what we have, may tend to want to keep our earnings and not reward laziness with earned income credits, free cheese and subsidized $125 section 8 rents.

The people who may be called lazy will take offense and claim it is ill opportunities or misfortune secured in an unjust system. But I guess a good question to pose to the poor is why are they poor. I wonder who they’ll blame. Maybe they won’t answer because of the large roll they played by ignoring the rules at a young age. The greatness of America states that if you can build a community of teachers, mentors and active engaged parents, the sky’s the limit. If a community does not support nor has trust in its own business and social leaders, opportunity must be sought outside of that community. This begets fractures and a cesspool of limitations.

Regardless of the causes and effects, should anyone in American die of starvation? Should anyone in America die on the street curb of a hospital because they were not admitted? I say “sure, why not”. Being that this country is the main pillar of Capitalism, we have to take the good (wealth) with the bad (poor). The best thing a government can do for its citizens is provide a free and adequate education, coupled with healthcare for children to assist in a fighting chance. We are not doing so well at these points but we are trying. Yet if you teach a person to fish, and he chooses not to fish, he better not stick his hand in my bucket. If you teach a man to eat fish and he chooses to eat super sized #1’s from McDonalds, he better not wish for me to pay for his triple bypass.

My point is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You can’t fix reactions without focusing on the actions. We need a fair system that addresses not only the problem, but address the reasons for the problem. If you provide stitches on the skin, internal bleeding may still kill you.

The first problem with healthcare is that the cost continuously increases by nature of the business model. So there is no way of predicting future cost. Medical device companies and pharmaceuticals are in it for a profit, so they research improvements in equipment and techniques so they can capitalize on new sales. If we took away the profiteering, the investment for research would fall and our medical advancement would slow. So in addition to a government insurance option, they should compete with pharmacist and scientist to develop new medications, medical techniques and equipment. The government could provide these advancements without the profit seeking, which would lower cost across the board. This Government Medical Institute could be centered in a suburban area the way that military bases are funded. Strict nonprofit quality government construction of a Federal Medical school that produce medical professionals that have an option of deferring student loans until they have 10 years of medical experience, and then have the option of returning to this campus community to work in the governments interest while not having to pay for many private company profits on major purchases such as American fleet vehicles and high end government provided houses; in addition to student loan forgiveness.

The second problem with healthcare is that demand is not predictable. As American’s diets fluctuate along with the changes in carcinogenics in our environment, we can not predict the quantity or level of sickness in the future. America is also aging (on average) and living longer lives, which guarantees an increase in the demand for healthcare. If we were determined to reduce the harmful affects of our consumption and waist, we would most definitely impact demand. Yet how many 99 cent meals we sell or illregards to emissions can create profit which appears to be more important than the health of America.

Who is going to pay the cost plus profits to the healthcare industry for those 45 million people with no health insurance? There is also a percent of the population that go bankrupt due to inadequate insurance during a serious medical condition. Remember, republican or democrat, black or white, you will get sick in your lifetime. Without adequate coverage you may lose everything you’ve worked for. So if sickness will eventually affect everyone directly or indirectly, why should we lock some people out? The answer is, like my man Smokey would tell you, “they didn’t put in on this….Man!”

I believe that a portion of healthcare should be paid by taxes on the products that are known to cause bad health. This increase in the cost of those things harmful will make healthier living relatively less expensive. Many people have unhealthy diets, given the low price of unhealthy foods. There probably is a positive correlation between uninsured and unhealthy. Hence, providing insurance for this group is disproportionably expensive.

Each person should have a medical file and a local doctor of their choice to administer preventative exams and lifestyle advice. Each person will have a co-pay associated with their healthcare. This co-pay increases if certain prescribed preemptive measures are not followed by the patient. So that each of us have choices that equate to differing levels of financial burdens.

Currently, if you don’t work and contribute, you don’t have healthcare coverage. There must be a trap door that we can drop those high risk citizens out of if they don’t do their part to not be such a burden on the system.