Universal Health Care
Yes, I am also a believer in the notion that health care for everyone should be an unconditional given.
Here in the U.S. they could simply put all its citizens on Medicare. Actually entitle anyone and everyone to receive all needed medical and dental services at no personal cost to them. Those covered would include the most destitute (sleeping outside in sub-zero weather) to the most affluent C.E.O. billionaire---and everyone else in-between wealth-wise. Everyone would get "equal billing" on it.
And the medical and dental professionals would receive set wages for their services based on how the medical boards rate their level of services as well as on seniority. Similar to how the military branches run their medical and dental services, with medics, corpsmen, and medical officers paid according to their rank, despite having the same level of general knowledge and following the same procedures.
The system in the U.S., as it currently stands, is not exactly a model of collective altruism. Most individuals who decide to go into the medical and dental fields do so on account of the earning potential of such professions. The reason such potential exists is because practitioners are allowed too much autonomy in deciding how much to charge for their services.
As such, it stands that the patient can easily wind up incurring considerable expenses in the events when their insurance policy doesn't cover all necessary procedures performed on him/her.
And it's not like anyone would ever deliberately come down with an ailment their insurance doesn't happen to cover solely for the purpose of "stiffing" their health-care providers. Things just happen, that's all.
One should be able to get a serious or substantial health matter taken care of and dealt with as and when needed without being transformed into some kind of "sacrificial lamb".
Yes, I am also a believer in the notion that health care for everyone should be an unconditional given.
Here in the U.S. they could simply put all its citizens on Medicare. Actually entitle anyone and everyone to receive all needed medical and dental services at no personal cost to them. Those covered would include the most destitute (sleeping outside in sub-zero weather) to the most affluent C.E.O. billionaire---and everyone else in-between wealth-wise. Everyone would get "equal billing" on it.
And the medical and dental professionals would receive set wages for their services based on how the medical boards rate their level of services as well as on seniority. Similar to how the military branches run their medical and dental services, with medics, corpsmen, and medical officers paid according to their rank, despite having the same level of general knowledge and following the same procedures.
The system in the U.S., as it currently stands, is not exactly a model of collective altruism. Most individuals who decide to go into the medical and dental fields do so on account of the earning potential of such professions. The reason such potential exists is because practitioners are allowed too much autonomy in deciding how much to charge for their services.
As such, it stands that the patient can easily wind up incurring considerable expenses in the events when their insurance policy doesn't cover all necessary procedures performed on him/her.
And it's not like anyone would ever deliberately come down with an ailment their insurance doesn't happen to cover solely for the purpose of "stiffing" their health-care providers. Things just happen, that's all.
One should be able to get a serious or substantial health matter taken care of and dealt with as and when needed without being transformed into some kind of "sacrificial lamb".
The one great thing about the UK is the NHS.
ReplyDeleteThe one bad thing about the U.S.A. is the way those in charge keep coming up with more and more ways to make their private citizens more and more "responsible for everything".
DeleteIt's because losing everything and dying young because you don't have healthcare is a monument to Freedom.
ReplyDeleteA monument to the illusion of "Being independent" and "Being able to take care of everything yourself" (that "ultimate monument" to being part of a "free society")----regardless of whether you have the resources (and/or connections) to do so or not.
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