So I decided that I'm going to change my socio-political blogs to being over here, since myspace sucks most of the time, and is far too public. Anyhow, what lately has been an issue is mandatory health insurance, and I am opposed to this for several reasons. The number one reason is that I know that I will eventually become older, it happens. As we grow older, we need our doctor's more and more, so our need for insurance increases, as does our policy's premium. Now when someone states that you must provide insurance for your employees, you rule out a lot of small businesses that simply can't afford to provide insurance for their employees. Not to mention, it provides an environment ripe for discrimination against the middle aged and older Americans.
Plus, if you deduct from an employee's pay, like my current employer does, you will have less money to work with, because the majority of people at my work on my policy are older than me, I have to pay 150 dollars a month, so that's 75 dollars a pay that I could use on making my own responsible health decisions. Not to mention, I had to switch doctors because my policy isn't covered at the said hospital that I would go to. Health insurance that is forced will not fix the problem that we pay entirely too much for the care that we need. The fundamental problem is that health care has become an industry, which is a hard thing to translate to individual biology.
-p.
Maybe the Europeans have something here...
I've been in the situation before with not having insurance through my employer.
I attempted to get insurance on my own. At the time, I was fairly young (about 19 or 20). I was being charged around $100 a month. That was outrageus considering I only made $6 an hour at the time AND I lived on my own with a baby on the way. I then applied for Medicaid thinking that because I was pregnant I'd get assistance. I was wrong.
In the government's eyes I made too much money. So at $6 an hour I made too much for government assistance and not enough to maintain a insurance bill of $100 a month.
Even if my employer would have took up health care, they were a small business with under 20 employees. I'd probably be just like you said paying $75 a month.
In other countries, Germany and Poland, I know for sure, offer insurance through the government. If you have a job you have insurance. Simple as that.
health care as an industry
I believe that the biggest mess is that, call me a commie, is that health care is an industry, rather than something that cares for the people of the country. If there was ever an industry to nationalize, it would be health care. Followed by defense. Oddly enough, capitalism is a system that I believe in, however, I believe that there needs to be some reform. Paying for health care when you're healthy isn't exactly a bad idea, but when you have policies that do not cover vital life emergencies such as organ transplants, you have a problem. Of course, it's to keep costs down, however, if you need the surgery done, and you pay for insurance, why should you be denied this health care procedure. It's a giant mess, however, maybe Michael Moore will sort it out in "Sicko."
-sp5k
"Art is not decoration, embellishment; rather it is work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty."
Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do
health care as an industry
I believe that the biggest mess is that, call me a commie, is that health care is an industry, rather than something that cares for the people of the country. If there was ever an industry to nationalize, it would be health care. Followed by defense. Oddly enough, capitalism is a system that I believe in, however, I believe that there needs to be some reform. Paying for health care when you're healthy isn't exactly a bad idea, but when you have policies that do not cover vital life emergencies such as organ transplants, you have a problem. Of course, it's to keep costs down, however, if you need the surgery done, and you pay for insurance, why should you be denied this health care procedure. It's a giant mess, however, maybe Michael Moore will sort it out in "Sicko."
-sp5k
"Art is not decoration, embellishment; rather it is work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty."
Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do