I just read some discussion about healthcare, and I am annoyed. I can't get it out of my head, so here I am writing a blog about it, even though I try to avoid such things.
It is frustrating to me, because there is so much hypocrisy about it. I can understand people being against the specifics of the healthcare plan, or certain aspects, but people seem to be opposed to the very idea. These are so very often the same people who are radically Pro-Life and who have 9/11 tattooed on their biceps. I don't understand. The United States has the highest infant mortality rate of any civilized country. Do the babies not matter after they are born? Three thousand Americans died on 9/11, but more Americans than that die because they can't afford proper heathcare. Isn't it also important to do something about those lives?
There is the matter of money, but money is already being spent. If a person develops a cough, but can't afford to go to the Dr., they wait. They wait until it is so bad that they have to go to the Emergency Room. By that time, something that might have been very easy and cheap to treat may have developed into something that requires time spent in the hospital and more expensive treatments. Most of these people cannot afford to pay their bills, so the costs are passed along to everyone else. In addition, the person has come in contact and spread their germs to many other people. Without regular check-ups, many conditions go longer without being treated. Preventable health problems are not prevented. These people are not locked away in some ghetto. They are spreading infectious diseases to you and me. And more money is spent.
Yes, it costs money, but whether you support the bailouts or you support the huge military budget we have, we are spending money. It is a matter of priorities. I eat a lot of organic food and people always tell me that they can't afford to eat that way. But, unlike me, most of these people have cable, buy new clothes regularly, spend money on expensive beauty products, and go out to eat or see movies on a regular basis. It is about priorities. And right now, there are people with money who see first class doctors. They know that changing the system may mean that their care is slightly diminished. It is not a priority to them, because all they see is what they have to give up. And they are the ones framing the conversation, so it becomes about how the people who are sick aren't worth anything anyways-illegal immigrants, lazy people, undeserving people- or about how it can't work, it won't work, it will ruin America.
All I can say is, Americans are sick and they are dying of preventable diseases. Where is the outrage?
