My Health Care Rant (For Those of You Brave Enough to Read It)

So, this whole thing with the health care debate and this health care "overhaul" really has me angry. Really angry. Angry to the point where I can barely think of anything else, so I am going to let it all out here for the world to see. And if you get a little angry after reading this, well, good, because I think this is something we should be angry about.

I've heard over and over from people who are against health care reform that they do not want to be told by the government what they can and can't do. These are mostly the SAME PEOPLE who have no problem with the government telling other people what they can and can't do, though. Legal abortions, anyone? Why is it okay for the government to outlaw abortions but not okay to tell people, "We need to help others with health care." Oh, right, it's a religious and moral thing. Well, how moral is it to let hundreds of thousands of people get sick and die every year because we aren't willing to pay a few bucks more out of our own pockets every month? Is that okay with God? Worry all you want about the unborn, but screw the folks who are here, and living, and trying to make ends meet day after day with their families.

For those same people who don't want to pay into a system that they will never use, here's what I have to say. Do you have some crystal ball that lets you see into the future? Are you so positive that you will never be in dire need of health care? What if you lost your job and had a catastrophic illness while uninsured? I'll bet you would be pleased as punch to have someone else to help take care of the health care bills while you could focus on recovering and getting back to being a productive member of society. Unless, of course, you have a small personal fortune set aside for unexpected health care costs, and then, hey, all the best to ya.

What about your tax dollars that go to roads, bridges, and schools that you will never use or even see in far flung states? What about tax dollars that are spent overseas on American interests? THOSE tax dollars are okay, but tax dollars spent on providing health care to middle class Americans is just awful.

If you don't want the government to tell you what to do, fine. Let's keep importing those toxic toys from China and those contaminated vegetables from South America. The government even tells you how fast you can drive. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?

What about prescription drugs? Is it okay for a company to just start selling a drug in this country without any say by the U.S. government?

Oh, wait, you say it's okay for the government to tell you what you can and can't buy and how fast you can drive? Why is health care any different?

The bottom line is that, whether you like it or not, if you live in this country, the United States government tells you what you can and can't do in a million small ways every single day. And now they are trying to say, hey, if you pay us a few extra bucks every month, we can make sure that you will not lose everything that you have worked for your entire life because of one catastrophic illness.

The thing that bothers me the most is people who say, "Well, I've got good health insurance, why should I pay for someone else?" to which I say, first of all, you ALREADY pay for "someone else" through your Medicaid and Medicare taxes. With any luck, you will never become so desperately poor that you need Medicaid. So why should you pay for people on public assistance to have health care? Because there's nothing you can do about it?

Why do we have this mentality when it comes to health care that, "I have mine, screw everyone else?" Are these people who need health care bad people? Do they deserve to be sick? Do they deserve to lose their homes, their cars, and their personal belongings because of bad luck? Why are we so afraid to help people who truly need it?

Now, I have to admit, I'm not happy about this new health care "overhaul". I don't like the idea of the insurance companies still being in charge. I don't like the idea of the government simply requiring everyone to buy health insurance from a private companies.

Which brings me to those stupid "death panels" that were so talked about. Okay, if the government sets up a public option for health care, then the big, bad government will decide who gets treatment and who doesn't. What people don't realize is that the insurance companies already decide who will get treatment and who doesn't.

Has your insurance company ever decided to not pay for a procedure, test or treatment that your doctor recommended?

Mine has.

Have you ever been told that the insurance company won't accept your application because of a pre-existing condition?

I have.

If you want to talk about "death panels", how about those bureaucrats at the private insurance companies who decide that you can't have your next round of chemotherapy or another dialysis treatment? These guys AREN'T EVEN DOCTORS. They don't have medical training. They are MBAs. Do you want some guy from Harvard Business School deciding what medical treatments are best for your cancer? You don't? Oh, well, then, I hope you have about a million dollars socked away to pay for it yourself.

I think the main point I want to make is that in this country, we have this horrible attitude of "It's not my problem." When, exactly, does it become your problem? When YOU lose your job, your health care, your house, and your belongings? By then, it's too late.

I am no fan of Washington politics, but I do give my elected representatives kudos for doing this the best way they could at this point in time. I would really like to see a public option offered. Read that carefully. Public OPTION. Not "REQUIREMENT". A public option would mean that if you needed it, yeah, it would be there for you, and if you didn't need it, someone else who did need it would be able to use it. Why is that so bad?

Just how much do people think this is going to cost them? Are we talking thousands of dollars a month? Some people already pay that just for their health "insurance". Think about it: what is a safety net for your health and your well being like that worth to you? Ten dollars a month? Twenty? A hundred? A thousand? What is it worth to someone else? Personally speaking, I would gladly pay an extra twenty dollars a month right now to ensure that my family and I never had to go without health care.

I'm not saying that socialized medicine is perfect. It certainly isn't. But why, in the most prosperous nation in the WORLD, do people avoid going to the doctor until they deem it worth the cost of a co-pay? What is wrong with the current health care system that people still die from pneumonia because they can't afford to see a doctor?

So, there. Those are my feelings about this whole health care debacle. I think it's about time we did something in this country, the most prosperous country in the WORLD, to make sure that no more of our children die because their parents can't afford to see the doctor. It's time to make sure that the insurance companies stop running the show and let the doctors decide which treatments are best for serious illnesses. It's time to make sure that not one more person or family loses their house, their life savings and their personal belongings because they had the bad luck to get sick. It's about time.