Our Failing Healthcare System

I must say, that with each passing day, I become more and more disgusted with our healthcare system. Yeah yeah yeah…we have the most technologically advanced system in the world…but is it really worth it when not all of our citizens are granted access to it??

It seems that lately I’ve been hit with a barrage of incidents where I hear about people going bankrupt because of medical bills they were unable to pay. That’s disgusting to me…and it SHOULD NOT be happening in America! And as if this isn’t enough, we have these idiots out there demonizing all forms of Universal healthcare. Let me just clear something up for the many of you that try and parallel Universal healthcare and Socialized medicine. Universal healthcare is just a system of providing healthcare for everyone…no matter what their income status, or pre existing conditions, citizenship status…everyone! Socialized medicine would be an aspect of allowing the government to control the healthcare industry. Doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc…would all be owned and run by the government. Since Barack Obama’s election, I’ve heard many of my conservative friends say that they will never become a socialist (or other naïve comments similar to these)…but let me just point out some socialized organizations that you use everyday!

Libraries!!
Fire Department!!
Police Department!!
K-12 Schools!!
And perhaps the one that everyone is using today….OUR MILITARY!!!

Perhaps you should think about these the next time your house is on fire…because if you’re not a socialist…you better have a big hose! I’m not saying that we need to socialize our healthcare system…I’m simply saying that we are the only capitalist democracy that currently denies people the right to healthcare!

In his recent welcoming address to Pope Benedict XVI, our lovely and oh-so-caring president Bush said “Americans believe that the measure of a free society is how we treat the weakest and most vulnerable among us. So each day citizens across America answer the universal call to feed the hungry and comfort the sick and care for the infirm.” Hmmm…perhaps as the said this he had forgotten about the 47 millions Americans that currently don’t have health insurance. Or the 9 millions children that don’t have health insurance. Or the 18,000 deaths that will occur this year due to lack of health insurance. Or the fact that over 50 percent of all bankruptcies occur because of medical bills!!

Another thing. I find it absolutely pathetic that people are actually saying that they don’t want to have to pay higher taxes to help out those that are less fortunate! I mean, I’ve always known that we are a selfish society, but to blatantly discriminate against the poor…wow! Especially when the truth of the matter is that anyone of us could see ourselves in their position at any moment! How do you plan for cancer? Or a car accident? Or the death of a loved one? Has anyone ever felt the pain of being denied a life saving surgery because your health insurance company refused to pay for it?

Here is my view on the longer waits that people allegedly experience in other countries. I would rather wait in line for a surgery, than know that I was getting a needed surgery that many are denied of because they can’t afford it. The thoght that we would not want a Universal healthcare system because we, the ones that are so blessed to be able to afford it, might have to wait a bit longer to get the medical treatments we need...is again...disgusting!

I don’t care how we fix, but it must be fixed! We can no longer sit idly by as our fellow American’s are denied what is rightfully theirs (Article 25 of the declaration of Human Rights).