Scattered Approach to Healthcare
On the subject of healthcare, more specifically health insurance, there are about 47 million uninsured Americans. One could ask if they made any distinction between citizens and non-citizens in this computation? And if your sensibilities were offended by that question, too bad. Because a reasonable estimate of approaches in Congress for solving the problem of uninsured range from 62 to 150 billion or more annually. Rest assured the only outcome of government estimates is that they are woefully inadequate like much of anything the government in total does. So these figures could balloon too much higher values.
Rather than approach the problem from the standpoint of lowering costs, the government is simply providing a politically survivable release of information that may quell a future uprising of millions who have no chance of receiving adequate medical attention. It is strange that all the protesters willing to march about the war or immigration or abortion or any number of issues are surprisingly silent about healthcare for the uninsured. Maybe that is because they have never or will never be without themselves.
It is another good reason to stop quibbling about how to prosecute a war and finish it properly so the one thing we can agree on is the massive spending on the war and be ‘responsibly redeployed’ on other expenses like services for American citizens. This is a country that spent between 2/3 and 3/4 of a trillion dollars on charity last year. Surely we can find a few sheckles to pay for healthcare for the uninsured. It would be better if we got control of healthcare 
costs which was addressed here earlier. All the ‘remedies’, procedures and other expenses that should not be paid for by insurance, medicare or medicaid along with reduced administrative costs without third party vendors would be enough of a savings to pay for the uninsured.
The latest example of necessary but impractical approaches to government spending on healthcare concerns a press release about children with autism and a 350 million dollar subsidy to provide special care. It is obviously needed and worthwhile to provide, but how can we keep catering to a scattered group of petitioners and spending in all different directions rather than a single solution to provide reasonable health care at reasonable costs to all involved?
Healthcare and all the problems that come with it is easily as large a problem as any other single issue. It may not have the urgency as a war since the daily casualties are not recorded and reported on as frequently, if ever. But it is equal in importance and desperately requires a solution. Save some room for this one on your hot button list.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:17 am
hiya Stanford..thought provokin post indeed…with all the illegals and able bodied people stealing from our welfare system…sigh…we still have citizens who have no health insurance..shame on us!
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:00 am
Healthcare was Bill Clinton’s flagship issue in 92. He, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congress had not the will to see it through. I’m not banging on Clinton, B. for that. Like Carter he was a former Governor and Washington outsider. But everyone is unwilling to spank the medical industry and medical types like wallowing in the ‘oh we save lives’ crap. Don’t ask them to tell you how many people die in hospitals for no good reasons. And Bush added to it with so called reform on class actions and lawsuits in general. The AMA is the worst. I have to shut up now, you got me going and on this subject I don’t need an excuse. Sometime I’ll tell you stories that will send chills down your spine.
As always Angel, thanks for stoppin’